Knitted Dog

Hello all!  Sorry to be away so long. There were a lot of changes I had to make for this year but I am back on track.

Here is a little knitted dog I think you will enjoy. He can stand on his own. Isn't his face cute! He will be joined later by some friends. With a few easy changes this dog pattern can become a cat. All I need to do is change the ears and the head a bit. I also have plans for a whole barnyard of knitted animals as well as knitted dolls.

I started knitting waaaay back when I was 17. I taught myself from a book and made puppet mittens. I still have the little booklet though it is held together with tape now. After some years of knitting various items it hit me that these patterns I was knitting from were created by someone. I was in awe! And I couldn't get it out of my mind. People actually created these knitting patterns I used. I wished I was that talented.

Then some time later it occured to me that everytime we tweak a pattern we are being creative. Don't like the type of yarn specified in the pattern?  Don't like the stitch pattern used? Want it longer, shorter, bigger, smaller? Little more this or a little less that? If you can make these changes you are being creative. And it's not too big a step from that to designing something simple from scratch. A scarf, a simple doll.

Then as you learn more knitting techniques more design features are available to you. Also you learn from your mistakes. Over time you find that you can make different items. Sometimes an idea that seems good looks nothing like what it is supposed to but it does look like something else. So you keep the mistake as a pattern idea for a future project.

When I was knitting the teddy bear I was looking at his ear upside down and it looked - don't laugh- like a doll's pantie. The knitted goose's wings can become angel wings with a few changes. And so it goes. If you enjoy knitting or any other creative endeavor don't be discouraged by mistakes. They are a valuable part of the learning process.

I enjoy knitting. I put on a movie and knit away. There is something about movies and television in general that makes me want to work. Any work. It could be housework or knitting or writing, whatever. I get involved with what I'm doing and often look up and the movie is finished. I missed most of it. My brain is wired funny I guess, but hey! I get a lot of work done. Sometimes it's the only way I get my housework done. Don't laugh, I'm serious here. TTFN