Hugs for Hippo

These are a little blurry, but will do for now, so you can get an idea of the size of the hippo.  I used one strand of worsted weight yarn (instead of 2 strands of sock yarn), and the hippo did end up bigger than I expected!  I think I may have filled the poly pellet bag in the body a little too much as well; it's pretty heavy!  It's still missing the details of the face.  I'm out of embroidery floss and Michaels is a bit of a hike from here...maybe I will pick some up this weekend.

Levenwick Sweater - Buttons and Toothpicks

Here is my sweater with buttons attached!!

As you can see, I finally sewed the buttons on my Levenwick sweater.  My mom gave me the tip to use a toothpick to create a little space between the button and the fabric of the sweater in order to make sure each button was not sewn on too tightly.  This is how I did it:

Afterwards, I googled it and realized I was actually supposed to put the toothpick on top of the button (see HERE).  Oh well, I think it created the same end result!

SO EXCITED to show off my new sweater!!  What do you think of the pocket?  I had a hard time stitching it on so that there was no seam...I think it may look a little granny-ish with the pocket, so am considering removing it.

Hippo Happenings

I sewed poly pellet bags using my sewing machine for the first time--SO much quicker than hand stitching!  I also made square shaped bags instead of trying to make round bags.  They fit just as well in the base of the body/arms.  I decided not to re-stuff the head.  I am still playing around with the arm placement.  Need to make the poly pellet bags for the feet tomorrow.

Next up: Socks

Knitting socks doesn't usually appeal to me, but I couldn't resist buying some Vesper self-striping sock yarn after I read about it on Susan B. Anderson's blog.  I liked Susan's candy corn socks last time she wrote about it, but when I checked the Knitterly store, they were all out.  This time, I was able to snag a skein of self-striping yarn in the Monet's Garden colorway.  I'm excited to get my yarn in the mail!  It is so cool how it stripes on its own!  If you click HERE, you can see the socks other Ravelers made with the same yarn I bought.

It's been awhile since I made my first pair of socks, and I think it will be a good, small project to have on hand for summer knitting.  Might be good to bring to my MOMS club knitting group too.  We meet once a month, and it is usually best to bring something that doesn't require a lot of concentration or looking at a pattern.

Hippo

I've been knitting a hippo for Drew!  I've come to really like toy knitting because I can finish part of the toy each night.  This Hippo pattern is from Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Toys. 

I left a red lifeline in the kitchener stitches at the mouth just in case I decide I need to stuff the head more.  Some of the other toys I've made weren't quite stuffed enough and it is too hard to open them back up to add more stuffing.  Once I stuff the body and arms/legs I should have a better idea.

This weekend I'll sew muslin bags for the poly pellets.  This is my least favorite part, but I really like the end result of having poly pellets in the toy.  It gives the toy more of a heft and allows it to sit up better!

I'll keep you posted...Drew loves stuffed animals and has been playing with some of the other ones I've made (puppy and bunny), so that makes it more fun to knit toys for him!

Which Button?

Drew has been wearing the hat with a brim at the park and it's worked out well!  Which button do you like (if any)?

Button 1

Button 2

Button 3

Hat with a Brim

Jim and I were talking about what kind of hat I should knit for Drew next.  His stocking hat is looking a little too wintry for this spring-like weather we've been having.  Honestly most days he doesn't even need a hat but there have been some cool, windy days where he does wear one.  We thought a hat with a brim would be cute and nice for spring.  It took me awhile to find a pattern, but I finally decided on the Capitan Hat.  I knew I wanted to knit it in gray, but didn't have any bulky gray yarn.  I held worsted weight yarn doubled and it worked out well!

This was a fun knit.  The directions were very clear.  The only modification I made is I knit an extra repeat of rows 3-10 to increase the length.  After I had finished what the pattern initially called for, the hat was only 4 inches long and I needed it to be closer to 5.5 inches long. We cut the brim out of one of Jim's old hats and I sewed it into the brim.

What do you think of the fit on Drew?  Although his head is almost the same size in circumference as mine, I'm wondering if maybe the brim looks a little too long on him.  Here it is on me:

If I keep it for myself, I will need to open the top and add a few more rows in between the decrease rows to make it longer so it covers my ears.  I haven't added the strap and chosen buttons yet because I need to decide which one of us will be wearing the hat!  What do you think?