Fox-friendly fur and other ideas

Today I was going through my stash looking for yarn for something when I came across this poor, unfinished project in a bin. Having taken it out I was gripped by the desire to finish it. No matter that I'd waited nine years to do so, or that I was in that bin for something entirely different, I dropped everything and got to work. I did just happen to have some time since my boy was on the couch with a flu bug today, and only after making sure he had drinks and all the comforts he needed did I venture into the craft room. In a few hours I had the thing finished, and here it is, in all its silliness, the Vegan Fox from Knitty. I'm more of a "cheating vegan" myself, but one doesn't have to be a vegan to enjoy it.


The fox came in a kit put together by the designer with three fun yarns in one of two colorways, nice buttons for the eyes and nose, and a clasp for joining head to tail. My son and I had fun figuring out where the eyes should go--too close together and the fox turned into a possum, too far apart, more of a teddy bear. We finally agreed on the placement of the eyes and finished up.


Okay, cute as he is, he can't compare to the real thing. Aren't foxes just the neatest, most perfect creatures? I love them.


My head has been swirling with other ideas this past week. Don't know if you've been a part of the knitting frenzy in response to Kate Middleton's shawl, which she was spotted wearing recently while grocery shopping. Claudia and I exchanged messages saying how we liked it, and I decided to see if anyone had a pattern for the shawl. A search uncovered not one but several brand new versions of the "Kate" shawl, in different weights of yarn, and even a Ravelry group to keep track of them all.


I had the perfect yarn in mind for it, some Aslan Trends Del Cerro, a worsted merino I saw at my yarn shop. It's a green with some hints of blue in it so I knew it would work for me. The shawl I had in mind was this one by Cat Wong:


It's in worsted weight yarn, with a modest ruffle, and I thought it just might do to approximate the look of the original. However, the more knitting I did, the more doubts crept in about the ruffles, and I wasn't enjoying all that garter stitch. So I changed horses and got myself a copy of Terra, a shawl by Brooklyn Tweed that I've been admiring.

photo by Brooklyn Tweed

I'm enjoying the knitting very much, and while there is still some garter stitch, it's not every row. The pattern is a treat because it's so well written. I think my color looks a lot like the one called Button Jar in Brooklyn Tweed's Shelter yarn.


And now (sorry for such a lengthy post here), my last inspiration of today, which is an idea to crochet a throw, two words I don't often use in my crafting. I came across one in progress on a Norwegian blog called Dans pa roser and thought, I must have one like it. The blanket is made of granny squares. Here's my color palette of leftover (and not) yarns.


Now to figure out how to crochet a granny square!