The Friendliest Snowman and my own Paw Patrol
April 30, 2025
Good morning on this absolutely beautiful end of April day! You probably think by looking at my snowman that I've gotten my seasons mixed up. I can't really explain why I'm making Christmas dolls in spring just when my roses are about to burst into bloom, but when the toy knitting urge strikes, I must succumb! My favorite toy designer is Susan B Anderson from Barrett Wool and Co. Come on in and see why.
I had admired Susan B Anderson's toy designs for years before I mustered the courage to make one. Most of her designs are toys which require double pointed needles and I am all clumsy fingers when it comes to knitting with dpn's, but when there's a will, there's a way and I vowed to master dpns once and for all. Have I mastered them? Uh, no, but I'm not afraid of them anymore and my persistence has paid off--I'm only half as clumsy and I was last year. Still, I only knit with dpns when I must, and try to knit with 3 needles instead of 4, which is something like knitting magic loop in a way--you have two working needles held parallel to each other and use a third to knit. The most I'll work with is 4 needles--putting stitches on 3 needles held in a triangle, using a fourth for the knitting. As soon as I can I switch to a 9" or 12" circulars and then I can go full speed. Bottom line is I no longer refuse to knit something that requires dpns and while I'm slow as molasses and not good at it, at least I'll give it a go, because you know, practice makes progress! The best thing is, it's opened my knitting world to a whole new group of patterns. Toys! Links are at the end of the post.
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| Look at the thumb! |
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| Love his scarf! |
Susan's topsy turvy dolls are so fun to make. This is my second snowman/tree doll. The first one I gave away to a friend and so had to make a new one for me. I made the snowman and the topsy turvy doll when we were on vacation last week and it turned out to be a good travel project. However, I was forever searching for dropped dpns but at least the projects fit into one tiny bag, so that was good.
These long johns were not the easiest for me to make, but worth it, don't you think? The pattern was written as a garland which required at least 6 long johns, but I felt I was lucky to knock out just one. But look at the back and you can see how I couldn't resist it.
I made the snowman and houses two years ago. I remember them being not too terribly fiddly and I simply LOVE them! I contacted the designer and suggested she design a church with a steeple. I don't know if she can fit it in this year, but she hinted at some really cute ideas for Christmas 2025. Stay tuned because they sound adorable and I'm sure I'll be knitting them. The yarn I used for all these projects is her own line of wool, Barrett Wool Co. It's gorgeous yarn and I've ordered some in green for a sweater for me.
I also made some houses in Rowan Felted Tweed in fall colors for my fall mantle. I love that tall house and will have to make another tall one in Christmas colors for my Christmas mantle.
I shared the reversible bunny last week. I also purchased a large bunny pattern from Susan and have that on my list for next Easter.
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| Pointy Baby Hat |
Here's me this morning, knitting and coffee with my feet up. Doesn't this look chill? But my feet were actually up because right below me an epic battle was raging. We are fostering two 6 week old litter mate pups, a brother and sister, and they were fighting over a toy. When I picked them up at the shelter, we were given food, bowls, pee pads, a kennel and no less than 8 toys, but the only toy they ever want is the one the other one has, so the puppy battles rage on! They are actually the dearest little things and it's going to be very sad to see them go when they get adopted out, which I don't think will be difficult. I am taking them to two "Yappy Hours" this week hosted by Pets In Need, adoption fairs where the pups and dogs who are being fostered can show off how awesome they are to prospective families.
How did we get these little pups? We had been thinking about adopting a senior dog and went to a few adoption fairs but couldn't find the right one for us. We then heard that there were a lot of displaced dogs from the Los Angeles fire that needed homes, possibly long term, until their families could take them back. The LA kennels were bursting and other counties were stepping up to take them in including our local ASPCA. Hearing this we decided to sign up to foster a senior dog. I specifically said, NO PUPPIES on my application, but I got a distress call saying that they had a litter of 6 week old abandoned puppies that needed homes ASAP and their "puppy people" were already committed and could I possibly take two for two weeks? So that is how we came to have two 6 week old pups. Despite the pictures below, they are really two very mellow dogs. They wander the garden shoulder to shoulder but never venture very far from my husband or me. They pounce and wrestle and cuddle and are really fun to have around. But just now they have settled into their kennel and that's my cue to shower. Goodbye!
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| The dramatic one is the girl and we call her Bootsie. My grandson named the boy Nibbles. |
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| My kitty slippers are the enemy and will not be tolerated under any circumstances. You might think that since there are two slippers that they could each have one, but again, they both want the one that the other one has. |
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| They said they are terrier mix and they are tiny! |
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