Knitting Corner: Knit One Squirrel Two

I adore hand making knitted and crocheted gifts for people. So last month, for Valentines day, I got to work on this little project as a gift for Kevin. Apparently I am often squirrely, so it seemed most appropriate.

The pattern, found as per usual on Ravelry, titled Knit One, Squirrel Two comes originally from Rabbit Hole Knits and can be found here. The original pattern however calls for a fluffy tail made from yarn and pipe cleaners, I wasn't a fan. Luckily for me, one of the lovely knitters of Ravelry had posted their own adaptation to create a matching knitted tail, found here. Because it was for Valentine's day, rather than put an acorn in the finished squirrel's paw, I crocheted a small heart!

The pattern called for a whole lot of knitting in one direction, placing stitches on holders and picking up from your cast on and knitting back in the other direction. I opted to only do this once, mainly because I was knitting with a deadline and it seemed like a colossal pain in the butt! Speaking of butt's before I sewed his up I stuffed about a dollar in nickles in him to off-balance the weight of the tail so he would sit upright. 

Apparently lovingly hand-crafted is my method of choice when it comes to gift giving (well that and Winter Classic Tickets). Here's the squirrel pictured in front of some mixed media art I produced for Kevin for our first Christmas together.

I knitted his little balloon shaped hind legs during one of Kevin's hockey games (at 6am no less), they have unfolded paperclips in them to help maintain their shape.

The gift was a hit, and if you follow me on instagram, you'll know that I was spoiled ridiculously for Valentines (and my birthday 3 days later). But just in case you don't follow (and you totally should!) here's a picture!




So here's to all things knitted and squirrely, have you been doing any crafting lately?