I Don't Do This For Just Anyone

After seeing the cuteness of Thomas, 

Barb asked me to knit her kitties to match her ginger kitties, Charlotte and Roger. She provided me with the yarn and very specific instructions about the features she desired.

I knit them on 2.75mm needles so they were proportionately smaller than Thomas who was knit on 3.25mm needles with the same weight yarn.

Of course, I had to have some fun with ChatGPT and created a photo of them going for a walk,

then sharing a plate of spaghetti in the style of 'Lady and the Tramp'.

Then a Blue Jays Fans photo was requested.

The designer Esther Braithwaite has created many patterns of animals:

Fox and Wolf,

a bunny you can dress, (I just might have to buy her 'Dress Me Teddy' pattern)

a mouse and chipmunk,

Pasture Pals cow and horse,

Pen Pals sheep and pig,

Jungle Buddies tiger, monkey, elephant, and zebra,

more Forest Friends with badger and owl,

Most of her patterns are $3CAD. So much fun for so little money! 

Any weight yarn is fine as long as the whole critter is the same weight and needle size. It is recommended to go down a couple of needle sizes than usually recommended for a tight knit and so the stuffing doesn't show through.

These little guys fit nicely in anyone's hand, pocket, purse or backpack. I imagine any little kid would love any one of them, too. I believe the easiest ones to knit are the kitty cats and tiger as they're just a tube, grafted at the top. No ears to knit and add. No shaping for the head.

Have fun!

Scarborough Needlearts Guild's 50th Anniversary Celebration

Members of the Trillium Embroidery Guild were invited to the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Scarborough Needlearts Guild held at Scarborough Bluffs United Church on Kingston Rd at Scarborough Golf Club Road. It was a stitch day which also included a catered lunch. Many of our Trillium members also belong to the Scarborough guild. 

Several of us attended: Marilyn, MaryK, Jeanette, and Bev from the east of Durham, and Judy, Barb and I from the west of Durham. We carpooled and all arrived at about the same time.

I didn't get any photos of people - just the displays.

This is 'Cotton Quartet' designed by Mary Corbet. I'd seen Jeanette's made into a needle roll and after my Why Not Stitching intro piece, I'm really inspired to stitch this myself.

Trillium Challenge

Alphabet band samplers. I have one half finished somewhere - abandoned at about 'q r s t u'.

Punto antico by Marion.

This collaborative banner depicts many 'Scarberian' scenes from the past and present.

Deputy Mayor Paul Ainslie was present to present this certificate to the guild.

There were also archivists from Scarborough and the city of Toronto who spoke of the importance of maintaining archives for the research for future generations.

Of course, Thomas and Ernest joined me and supervised my stitching. Because my birthday was closest to the celebration day, I got to take home the begonia against which Thomas and Ernest are propped.

Judy safely got us home at the beginning of rush hour traffic.

We all enjoyed a very fun day of stitching and celebrating.

Stitchin' on a Rainy Day

Yesterday MaryK, Judy, and I met at Farm Girl Quilting near Beaverton for a Hand Stitching Day. We only decided to attend the day before and fortunately got three of the last four spots available.

The vendors were Kimat Designs, Pansy Patch Quilting and Stitchery, and Blueberry Ridge Design.

The venue is a large out-building on Laura and her husband's dairy farm. It's perfectly set up for events such as this. At the far end is the ever important snack table, microwave oven, and fridge, with the bathroom beyond that. Laura also manages the Farmer's Wife Retreat House just down the road.

I carpooled up with Judy

and MaryK met us up there and saved our seats.

It became a blustery, rainy day so we couldn't think of a better way to spend it.

Of course, Thomas and Ernest came to check things out and supervise.

We had a bit of a photo shoot amid the Pansy Patch and Blueberry Ridge displays. This greenhouse piece 'Over the Garden Gate' really appealed to me so I had to have it.

Thomas posed before the Pansy Patch 'Autumn Quilt Barn'.

The guys posed in front of 'The Postmouse's Christmas Delivery' by Blueberry Ridge. This was a VERY popular design last fall.

The guys prefer designs with animals in them. This Blueberry Ridge design is called, "The Postbunny's Easter Delivery".

From Kimat Designs, I purchased 'Tomato, Tomahto' from Needle & Moss. The chart for the sampler in the background is also included.

I have stitched Annie Beez' 'Christmas Pears' and Stacy Nash' 'Ginger' on a piece of Aztec Red linen and have just enough left to do the 6 sides of the Tomato-Tomahto. I also have some appropriate silk floss for the project, left over from the Christmas Pears.

The day seemed to really go fast. 

It was still pretty blustery when I got home so I thought a nice fire would cozy things up.

I spent the rest of the evening, knitting Charlotte and Roger's tubes and watching ER episodes on Netflix.

Tomorrow a bunch of us will join the Scarborough Needlearts Guild for their 50th Anniversary celebration. It involves a stitch day and a catered lunch; two of my favourite things!

I remembered to sign Judy and myself up for next Saturday's Peel Stitch-In and got in just under the wire. Barb didn't get in right away but was first on the waiting list. Shortly thereafter she texted me to say someone had registered twice so she got their second spot. 

I may have to kit up one of my new projects to take to all these stitch days.

I'm so pleased to have so many fun activities to do with such fun people. 

Summer is just around the corner.

Thomas' Debut

 Barb sent me a photo of some kitty cats in the style very similar to Ernest and his friends. 

The designer is Japanese and doesn't share her pattern but I thought I'd check the catalogue of Esther Braithwaite's knitted animal dolls on Ravelry and see if she had a kitty cat pattern. Woo  Hoo! I found one - 'Kitty Friends'.

I quickly paid the $3CAD and downloaded the pattern. It's even easier than Ernest's bear pattern as there are no decreases for shaping the head.

I found some heather grey DK yarn in my stash and set to work - shirking all the housework and gardening I should have done that day. I modified the pattern by duplicate stitching a sunflower on the sweater and added a 5-stitch i-cord tail.

I present, Thomas.

His whiskers are 2 strands of DMC floss.

The tail was knit later and grafted into place.

I took Thomas and Ernest outside for a little photoshoot amid the violas.

Yesterday, we joined my former retired colleagues for our semi-annual luncheon at Mandarin.

We then headed to Indigo Book Store at the Oshawa Centre and had another little photo shoot among their much larger animal friends - none of whom wore any spiffy clothing.

I've now been commissioned to knit kitties matching the basic features of Barb's two cats, Charlotte and Roger, and have been given strict instructions about sweater style and colour, facial features, and the bushiness of the tails. I've been too busy these past couple of days to get much done on them.

Tomorrow Judy, MaryK, and I are heading up to Beaverton for the Farm Girl Quilting Hand Stitching Day. It will be my second early wakeup in two days in order to get us there for 10am. 

This morning I also had to get up early to greet a sales rep from a window/door replacement company to get the ball rolling on a couple of $$$ things $$$ that have been on my to do list for quite a while. 

Monday a bunch of us from guild are joining the Scarborough Needlearts Guild for their 50th Anniversary celebration. It involves a stitch day and a catered lunch. All the car pooling from Durham Region has been arranged. Then next Saturday, being the first Saturday of June, will be our guild stitch day at our meeting place.

And finally... this afternoon, I transplanted some small, low-lying hostas into the front of the bed at the front of the house. The new plants had popped up all over the bed so I thought I'd collect and organize them a bit. Once the daffodils are trimmed back, I'll plant larger leaf hostas behind them in that bare area in front of the low shrub under the window. 

That garden hardly gets any light in the summer so shade plants are the only ones that will do well there. The big hostas will come from some of the garden beds in the back yard.