Mystery project revealed!
I gave Andrea the mystery project at last night’s baby shower ... What do you think?
This pattern is from Kath Dalmeny’s World of Knitted Toys. I used Lion Suede, an inexpensive very soft, suede-like yarn, and stuffed it with ordinary craft store fiberfill. It's washable, of course. The knitting itself is pretty easy … it may actually take more time to assemble it than knit it. Fun project, though.
The eyes were the biggest challenge. Ms. Dalmeny’s critters are made with the glass button eyes you can buy in craft stores but I don’t like using them on little baby things. When I made the koala a couple of years ago for a niece’s new baby, I made felt eyes for it. They were okay, but pretty dull and flat, so I wasn’t thrilled with them.
So instead of using felt for the kangaroos’ eyes, I bought a skein each of Brilliance yarn from Patons, in Black Dazzle and Marvelous Mocha. (It’ll last a lifetime I’m sure if all I use it for is eyes!) What attracted me to this yarn was that it has a sparkly strand through it. I just crocheted little round buttons (black center surrounded by brown for the mama, all black for baby), and stitched them in place with needle and thread. The a little bit of sparkle really adds life to the eyes. Andrea’s says it makes them look a little “impish” – I think it might be the smiles, or the upturned nose? Anyway, I’m very pleased with the project.
