More Bears Called Cyril

 

I've got a bit of a thing for bears.  So while I was struggling with motivation to get into my studio this winter while it was cold and wet, I set about making another couple of bears using my Cyril pattern.

I first made Cyril in 2016 and he came out really well.  I'd found some mohair on offer last year and decided to buy it so I could make another, I just wasn't sure when that would be. 

 

As I was going through my stash to find bear joints and eyes etc, I also found some other long haired material - so soft! and decided to make two bears at the same time.

It's taken a couple of months as I've only been using my Saturday afternoons, and making two is a lot slower than one.

 

Mohair Cyril went very well, except for one paw pad that split when I turned it the right way round!

Fluffy Cyril was a pain in the a**!  I got covered in fluff every time I touched it and there was so much fluff it was hard to actually sew the parts together.  I had to trim his fur after I put him together to give him some definition, and he's still just a fluffy blob!

 

I still think original Cyril is my fav, but these two are still fun.  I nice size to hold and I've weighted them so they feel a good weight too.  If they were bigger I'd love to add a growler.

And I think I've got enough mohair to make another one!  Maybe next year. 

Stash Busting Powdermill Cardigan

 A couple of years ago I crocheted a blacket.  I very much love this blanket and still use it most days to keep my knees warm in our old cold house.

At the end of the project I had a bunch of part balls of yarn left over (Stylecraft Special DK with names like Fondant, Spice, Violet, Pistachio and Fucshia) but I wasn't sure what to do with them.  I just kept them together and put them in my stash.

 

Then last year I knitted the Powdermill Cardigan and as I knitted, I couldn't help but wonder what it would look like using the colours from the blanket. 

The thought kept nagging at me, so I gave in and had a look at the bag of part balls to try and work out if there would be enough yarn to do it.  It was hard to tell, but what's the worst that would happen, I'd have to buy more wool!

So I set out to knit another Powdermill Cardigan, but this time from the stash.  Except my needle broke, so I had to buy a new one first! 

 

Eventually I got started.  I was originally going to blind pick my colours, but I wanted to keep the dark stripe/light stripe of the original pattern and that needed a little bit of planning to make sure it would work.  So I ended up planning the colours more than I had wanted.  (and this slowed me down as it was a hard decision to make EVERY. SINGLE. STRIPE.)

However, there were a few rules.  Colours that had touched before shouldn't touch again if possible.  And if they did I couldn't have three in a row.  I used the buttermilk as the colour to pull it all together as it had in the blanket and as the dark grey had in the orginal cardigan.  Lastly there should be a reasonable gap between the use of a colour so it didn't get bunched up. 

 

As I had limited amounts of the colours I decided against having all the edges match, to make sure I didn't run out.  But I did in fact run out of one colour - the buttermilk!  Luckly I was able to get a new ball at the local wool shop - a perfect match.

I also tried a new way to finish the front openings.  In the last cardigan I used a ribbon sewn in, but it took ages and didn't look the best.  This time I attempted a steek sandwich.  It needed a little tweaking but actually worked very well.  It also meant I learnt a new way to pick up stitches - much easier than I had been doing - but of course I only learnt how to do this on the last time of needing to pick up stitches.

 

I decided against buttons and button holes.  I have a shawl pin if needed.  

I adore how bright this cardigan is.  I love how well the colours sit together.  And if I leave it on my chair it merges into the blanket. LOL.

Might try something a little smaller/less challenging next...