SweetMyrtle

meet 'flora'...

my first knitted 'mummy' bunny from Knitted Toy Tales by Laura Long.

meet patrick...

patrick is a little mouse knitted from Knitted Toy Tales by Laura Long . i bought the book for my youngest girl at Christmas. we are intending on working through the sweet projects together, but at the moment i am relearning how to knit!

 

Knitted Toy Tales is a delightful book with super cute patterns that you will fall in love with. the charming little poems which are dotted throughout the book  have really engaged my daughter (and me also). she would like to make the bunny and my long term aim is  to make one of the teddy bears.

 
i come from a family of knitters. my girls grew up wearing 1940's - 1960's cardigans which my mother knitted them and which my grandmother had knitted for me and my sisters years earlier. these  old patterns still remain in the family and how lovely if one day i could knit them for my own grandchildren!

my sisters and my father also knit. my knitting  however is limited... i can plain and pearl easily enough and i have done a few fancy stiches in the past but i am what you may call a 'rectangular knitter' meaning that i stick to straight lines and apart from a baby jacket made some 30 years ago for my duke of Edinburgh's award i have no experience of  shaping.

so on mother's day i took the book over to my mum's and asked her to show me how to increase and decrease and to set me off on one of the  projects. she started 'Patrick' mouse for my smallest girl in her favourite colour  ~ green.

he came together very quickly and i have now moved on to making a 'mummy' bunny. once i have mastered these i will be in a much better position to teach my youngest. she can already knit plain and pearl stitch  but like me will need to learn how to shape. 

Knitted Toy Tales is published by David and Charles and interestingly (for me anyhow) the design team, photographer and editorial team are the same as on our most recent book Home Sweet Sewn.(also published by David and Charles). The book has really clear instructions (which as a beginner i need) and the  photography is just gorgeous.   i will keep you up to date any further knitting adventures... and here's hoping that  i will finish 'mummy' bunny in time for Easter.

p.s. Patrick mouse was named Patrick by us due to his fetching green colour and the fact that today is St Patricks day.

Happy St Patrick's day to all my Irish friends! x