CHEERFUL PROJECT BAG

What every knitter needs is a CHEERFUL PROJECT BAG. Every knitter needs to have one project available at all times just because it makes them feel good. Something in a bright cheerful color or something so silly it just makes them smile to be working on it.

I've had that for the last six weeks. I gave myself the assignment
and the permission to design and make toys for an upcoming class.
And having both the need to do the job and the permission to go where
I wanted to with it has been a wonderful experience. If I had an idea
I could feel free to follow it to some kind of conclusion. Some became
full fledged toys and others ended up in my body parts box. But in
reality, every stitch I took, even the ones I ripped out lead somewhere.




It has been a month and a half of knit and rip for me. I was talking to DH this morning. We were discussing how much time I have spent on this knitting project and comparing it to last year.

Last year, February was a hard month for me. I had a lot of days where the depression had the upper hand and I slept a lot.
I was very eager for spring to get here and READY to get out
into the garden as soon as the weather was above 40*.
I NEEDED to get out in the sun.

This year I have been busy and happily occupied all of February
and had no incidences of real depression.
Something to think about there.


Of course, who has any time to be depressed when you are working on a cheerful little duckling like this little girl I named Princess Pink. I keep thinking she needs a pink cape and a crown, or maybe what I need to do is to make another duckling in some bright pink yarn I have.






Or her big brother, whose name is Qwock because that is what
my son called ducklings when he was very small . . .









Yup, from now on I will try to have a CHEERFUL PROJECT bag
to hold something in a bright color or in a silly theme just to make me and the folks around me smile when I work on it.

So what's the tally?

We have Bunnies, Babies and Blankies for the first class.

1. Rolly Polly Baby bunny based on Jean Greenhowe's Rainbow babies (Click here to download the Rainbow Babies free pattern) as an example of how to adapt a pattern.
2. Rabbit inspired by Basil Staghare in the Redwall books
3. Bunny Baby Doll - she needs a name
4. Set of underwear for the bunny doll
5. Dress for the bunny doll
6. The Gumball Bunny Family, Pappa, Momma and kids
7. Laying down bunny egg cozy
8. Sitting up bunny egg cozy
9. Round Easter Basket Blanket based on Elizabeth Zimmerman's (Pi Shawl)
10. Square Easter Basket Blanket

And we have the Chicks, Eggs, Carrots and a Sheep class.

1. Qwock a duckling.
2. Princess Pink another duckling
3. Large felted carrot "box"
4. Carrot Racer
5. Chick in a nest egg cozy
6. Chicken egg cozy
7. Elegant Eggs ( from Knitty Keen Elegant Eggs)
8. Sleepy sheep egg cozy
9. Sheep toy
   

I finished my last piece on Friday and delivered the whole
set of toys to the A.C. Moore store in Downingtown PA,
on Saturday morning. I can't say thank you enough
to the Knitters in my local SnB, my non-knitting
friends and the new friends I have made through
Ravelry during this process.

Folks who see them seem to like what they see.
Now I wait to find out if anyone signs up to take the class.

I have learned:

That I really like to work things out on the needles.

That I shouldn't write down a line in a pattern until I am sure it's the way I want it or I should wait to write the pattern until the toy is finished. Writing as I go leads to a lot of crossing things out as I change things again and again and again, until I get the shape I want.

That I love to knit very small toys, but that slightly larger ones are easier and will meet the child safety rules better.

That I will use short rows for shaping often, unless I am reminded that other folks may not enjoy them.

That I can make an attempt at just about anything and it's OK if I don't get "there."

That I have a part to play in each community I choose to associate with.

And that as the FlyLady says, Housework done incorrectly still blesses my family."


Knitting can be so much fun. My plans for this class are that is should not be pattern driven. I would very much like to run the class in a way that encourages the student to discover their own creativity. Ideally, I'd start with something along the lines of "We're all going to knit a bunny right now. Everybody cast on a few stitches, how many, if you want really big bunny do a lot, if you want a little bunny like this one not so many. Knit around to make the first leg. How many rounds, how long do you want the leg to be. Yes we will get to stuff with patterns but right now it's time for you to make a bunny. Do you want a sitting down or a standing up bunny? And so forth.