photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Yesterday,

I cut the body length

tube of knitting

from the original

mile or so of knitted tube.

I gathered the ends and

stuffed it,

tied off the neck,

stitched the ears

and legs, and

made the arms.

Sew on the arms,

stitching them really securely to the body.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

And, now to

embroider the features:

I did 2 versions of the face-

one with an ‘x’ mouth/nose,

and one with a ‘u’ or ‘v’

smile.

Start by bringing

the needle with

black yarn

through the head,

and out  at the

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

first eye. (half way down the face).

Stitch over one

horizontal bar

of the face

4 or 5 times,

leaving the

yarn end

inside the head.

Then,

take the needle back

inside the head.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

To make the ‘v’ mouth:

Bring it out at the corner of

the mouth.

Then, take it back inside the

head,  at the

other corner of the

mouth.

Bring it  out

at the center of the

mouth and take a couple of tiny

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

stitches to anchor it.

To make the ‘x’

nose/mouth,

bring the needle

out at the upper

right hand side

of the ‘x’.

Go back in at

the lower left.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Bring it out at the

upper left and

go back in at the lower

right hand side

of the ‘x’.

Take the needle

out at the

left eye,

and stitch in place

5 times, then

take the needle

inside the head.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Take the needle back

through the head,

and come out

at the back of the neck.

Trim the end close

to the body.

This photo shows

both versions of the

‘v’ and the ‘x’ mouth.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

To finish:

Thread any loose

yarn ends into the

teddy’s body.

Tug hard on the

arms to make sure

that they are sewn

on really sturdily.

And, there you

have it-  a terribly sweet

little amigurumi teddy

designed by me for the love of children everywhere.

Please feel free to make them for your favorite charities and to give as gifts, but please don’t sell them.

That is not what they are intended for.

And, may you feel joy in the making and in the giving- I hope that they will bring delight those that craft them and comfort and feelings of being loved to those who receive them!

(Please remember that this tutorial was a HUGE amount of work to create, so please DO NOT copy or post it to another blog or website, but please do feel free to share the link far and wide! Thanks so much!

Original design by Noreen Crone-Findlay, copyright)

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

This year,

I decided

to have fun

with my

vintage Mattel knitter.

I love this funky

old gadget!

It’s a little finicky,

but still, oh, so much fun!

I wanted to design an

amigurumi pocket teddy bear

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

that  I could make

using the knitted tube made

with sport weight yarn

and the Mattel knitter.

(Note: It has 16 pegs, and

makes a tube that’s a couple of

inches wide, so any spool knitter

that has 15 to 20 pegs would work,

if you don’t have a Mattel knitter.)

If you have a Mattel Knitter, or

a similar round crank style knitter,

knit up a few feet of  cord with it,

to be able to make a bunch of bears.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

BODY AND HEAD:

You will need to separate a section of

knitted tube that is 5 inches/12.5 cm long.

To cut off a length from the

cord, snip a stitch from a row or 2

above the desired length.

If you want a taller bear,

cut a longer piece.

Pull up hard on one end of the cut yarn.

Keep pulling until the yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

tightens up, and it gathers in.

Now,  look closely at the

pulled in stitches, and snip

the horizontal yarn,

close to the original

snipped stitch.

When you tug on it,

a length of yarn will be

released,

by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

and the 2 pieces of knitting

will come apart.

Thread the end

of the cut off piece

of yarn into a

craft needle,

and take it through all the

stitches on one end of the

Body/Head piece of knitting.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Pull up to gather the end,

and tie the ends in a tight knot.

Stuff with polyester stuffing &

gather the other end.

Tie it off and knot tightly.

Wrap yarn around the neck 2 times.

Tie and knot tightly.

Pinch an ear at each side of the head

and stitch across the base of

each ear, stitching in place

to anchor.

To shape the legs,

stitch vertically

half way up the body.

Mattel-knitter-teddy- photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Stitch the leg line several times

to make it really secure.

For the first few bears that

I made, I spool knitted

cords to use as the arms

and legs and ears.

I wasn’t happy with this,

as I wanted the entire bear

to be made from the tube.

So, I twigged to pinching the ears,

and doing the stitched legs.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

The arms were more of a challenge.

I solved this dilemma by

cutting short lengths of tube (approx. 5 rows)

for the  arms.

I picked up the stitches on the top

of the short length of

tube, and gathered them.

Then, I picked up the stitches on

the other end of the tube,

and gathered them, too.

This makes a poofy little piece,

which I then folded in half

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

and stitched lengthwise.

Because it is now 4 layers

of knitting,

the arm does not

need to be stuffed.

And, because this tutorial is

getting to be so long,

I am going to

finish it up tomorrow,

so come back tomorrow

for the rest of the tutorial…..

(Please remember that this tutorial was a HUGE amount of work to create, so please DO NOT copy or post it to another blog or website, but please do feel free to share the link far and wide! Thanks so much! Original design by Noreen Crone-Findlay, copyright)

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Check out her website: Nicky Epstein

copyright Sixth and Spring Books

If you are already a fan of Nicky Epstein,

you are going to be thrilled with

Knitting a Kiss In Every  Stitch:

Creating Gifts for the People You Love

And, if you weren’t a fan before,

you most certainly will be

after you see this lovely,

delight filled treasure of a book.

This is a book that is

all about love:

The love of knitting,

the love of great, and inspiring

designs, and the pleasures of  putting love into action by making wonderful gifts.

It’s a beautiful book, built on an excellent concept, and filled with gorgeous photos of inspiring projects.

Here’s A knitting tip from Nicky Epstein: Update With Embellishments
“Make knitted flowers, leaves, tassels, balls, pom-poms or corkscrews to add interest to pieces that you have already made, such as baby sweaters, hats, bags, socks and slippers—or you can even add them to purchased items such as handbags, shoes, scarves, socks or sweaters. Also, you can use them on gift-wrappings or as luggage identification.”

Here’s a link to order Knitting a Kiss in Every Stitch: Sixth and Spring (The publisher supplied the review copy, but I do not profit in any way by listing the link to them)

Knitting a Kiss in Every Stitch is a winner, and will be a perenial favorite.

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

One of the contests was the Compassionate Crochet contest.

compassion caps crocheted by Barbara Pretzsch copyright

The winner of that contest, Barbara Pretzsch, has proved herself

to be a winner in more ways than one!

Barbara has used the kit that she won to create a whole collection

of compassion caps and has shipped them off to the Knots of Love folks

so they can distribute them to cancer patients.

Bless your heart, Barbara, and thank you!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

The invitation is  from Luib na Lùban, (Lùban air an Drochaid in Gaelic, pronounced, roughly, “Loooban er n drawkitch”),

copyright stitches on the bridge

which translates to: In Amongst the Stitches.

They are  a new textile art group in Skye, Scotland, that is inviting all Scots, ex-pats, Scotophiles and any other stitching folk  to take part in a wild and woolie project to cover the Skye Bridge in knitting and crochet.

On their Ravelry page, they have listed the dimensions of all the pieces that they need. (They need a lot, and don’t worry, the pieces won’t be wasted! They’ll be re-configured later to donate to charity)

The Skye Bridge links the Isle of Skye with the mainland in the West Highlands of Scotland.

The plan is to link this gigantic and glorious feat of urban stitching with Highland Homecoming 2009.

The Highland Homecoming is an exuberant  celebration of Scotland’s many wonderful contributions to the world, in October 2009.

Here’s the website: stitches on the bridge, where you can find links to myspace and facebook as well as other group links,

and here’s the  link for the yahoo group yahoo stitches on the bridge and the  Ravelry page

Get your hooks and needles flying! They need to cozy up the bridge to Skye starting now!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

compassionate crocheters

There were 44 entries and I was deeply touched by all of them.

This morning, I asked my husband to pick a number between 1        and 44. He chose ‘20′, which is Barbara Pretsch.

Congratulations, Barbara! I will be sending you an email, requesting your mailing address so that Laurel Hill and Knots of Love can get in touch with you to mail you the compassionate  crochet kit for a chemo cap!

Thank you so much to all the other compassionate crocheters   who responded to this contest!

original drawing by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

And, now I am pleased to offer a second contest, courtesy of

Knots of Love and Laurel Hill.

This contest is for a compassionate knitter.

The prize is one of Laurel Hill’s

knitted compassion cap kits

How do you win?

Simple, post a comment, telling me to  whom you would donate  the compassion cap that you will knit from this kit.

The contest begins now and closes on March 17th.

It is open to citizens of Canada and the United States.

(image source: drawing by Noreen Crone-Findlay. Copyright, not to be used without permission)

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

I received a note the other day from Christine Shively at Knots of Love,  telling me about the chemo cap kits that they are now working with Laurel Hill to create.

‘Great!’, I thought, knowing how many people’s lives are being radically altered by cancer in their family or among their friends.

Then, a few days later, I received a note from a dear friend, saying that she is now facing the challenges of cancer. 

I immediately went into prayer, visualization, breath work and healing imagery mode for her.

Her family and friends have set up a support network for her through a website that might be of  use to other people.

I know that when we were being caregivers, it would have been very helpful.

It’s the Lotsa Helping Hands website.  I hope you never need it, but if you do, it’s wonderful.

People ~WANT~ to help other people who are going through the difficulties of the treatment process.

When my cousin was having radiation and chemo, she found wearing a wig to be too uncomfortable to bear. Soft caps are such a good alternative!

Christine Shively has set up her foundation, Knots of Love, to help get lots of caps into the hands of people who will be benefited by them.

She, and the lovely folks at Laurel Hill have graciously offered

a   Crochet Kit as a prize

to celebrate the launch of Bliss Tree.

And… they are also offering a Knitted compassion cap kit as a prize as well.

How to win?

  Leave me a comment, and let me know where you would donate the crocheted cap you create with this kit.

The contest will run from now until March 17th.

(image source: drawing by Noreen Crone-Findlay. Copyright, not to be used without permission)

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

If you want to gift something and feel good about it, too, consider charities. There are many different charities that need handcrafted items. I usually choose a charity at the beginning of the year and make items throughout. I try and switch it up each year so that I can help different ones.

Baby items are always a hit because they’re small and you can whip them up in no time. If you’re a crocheter who’d like to get involved, consider these charities for babies:

Care Wear

Caps to the Capital

The Preemie Project (Crochet patterns page)

You get to do something you love and help someone at the same time.

Image: Photos.com

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Here is the link for the pattern for the earflap style baby cap that I designed for the Knit One, Save One campaign for the Save the children fund:  Baby Cap

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Post from: Hankering for Yarn