Elephants in Stripes!

I've already posted a photo of this little guy on Twitter, but I decided to share him here as well. Last month, I got a really fun, creative request from an Etsy customer. She was looking for an elephant for her son that matched a favorite outfit. She sent me a picture of the stripe pattern on the shirt, and this is what I created for her:



































I can't even begin to tell you how pleased I am with the final product. He turned out So Cute. The customer thought so, too, and she sent me a photo of her son holding his new elephant and wearing the matching outfit. I totally gave myself props for doing an excellent job matching both the colors and the varying widths of the stripes. The photo was pricelessly adorable (I won't share that here, for obvious reasons).

As I was knitting the multicolor elephant, Max decided that he wanted me to make him an elephant, too. First, he said he wanted a blue elephant. Then he wanted a yellow one. Then he wanted a red one. When the red choice seemed to stick, I started on Max's elephant. And of course, as three year olds do, Max changed his mind mid-knit and decided he wanted red and blue. So this is what he got:
























































After complaining a bit about the addition of the blue stripes ("But I didn't want blue, too!"), Max decided that he LOVES his new elephant, and it has replaced Tigger as his favorite sleeping buddy.

After the success of the striped elephants I've completed, I'm thinking about making another one in a 3 or 4 color combo to include in my Etsy shop. I just have to decide on the color combo.

In the meantime, I've started working on a new design, which I'll probably tweak a bit, but for now I have listed Penny the Pig in my Etsy shop.

Fun for Fall

I've been stuck at home with a sick Max for the past few days, and it seems that the antibiotics are finally getting rid of the little guy's strep throat. That means that while I had to stay home with him again today (he shouldn't be contagious after today, so he can back to daycare tomorrow just in time for their Fall Festival), he was feeling well enough to play by himself and nap without being held for a while. What does that mean for LaTina? Knitting time, of course! With the nip of fall in the air this morning (that means 59 degrees when I woke up), I was in the mood to knit something fall-y. And what says Fall more than pumpkins? This little guy measures 4 inches in diameter and 2.5 inches high (3.5 inches high if you include the stem).















Here's the (very simple and very quick) pattern:

I used worsted weight yarn and size 5 DPN's. I plan to make a bigger one next by holding the yarn double and using size 8 DPN's. You could also just use a chunkier yarn.

Cast on 9 sts with orange yarn (leave a long tail to sew up the hole in the bottom), distribute evenly among 3 needles, join to knit in the round (you can also knit this flat and sew up the side seam, just alternate knit and purl rows, aka stockinette stitch; add in an extra purl row where needed to make the KFB stitches work). You will need DPN's for the i-cord stem.

R1 - KFB 9 x's (18 sts)
R2 - KFB 18 x's (36 sts)
R3 - knit all sts
R4 - KFB 36 x's (72 sts)
R5-7 - knit 3 rounds
R8 - KFB into the first and last stitch on each needle (78 sts; 26 sts on each needle)
R9-13 - knit 5 rounds
R14 - *k2tog, knit to end of needle, ssk* 3x's (72 sts)
R15-19 - knit 5 rounds
R20 - repeat round 14 (66 sts)
R21-22 - knit 2 rounds
R23 - repeat round 14 (60 sts)
R24-26 - knit 3 rounds
R27 - k2tog around (30 sts)
R28-29 - knit 2 rounds
BEGIN STUFFING.
R30 - k2tog around (15 sts)
R31-32 - knit 2 rounds
R33 - *k2tog k1 ssk* 3x's (9 sts)
R34 - knit

Cut yarn and draw through remaining live stitches. Finish stuffing the pumpkin to desired fullness, pull tight, knot, and hide yarn tail inside. Sew up the hole in the bottom of the pumpkin and hide the yarn tail inside.

To make the stem, pick up and knit 4 stitches at the top of the pumpkin using green yarn. Using 2 DPN's, work in i-cord for 12 rows, or until stem is desired length (folded in half). Bind off in i-cord, and fold the stem down so that the cast on and bound off edges meet. Sew the stem in place, and hide all yarn tails inside.

*This pattern is for personal use only. Enjoy!