Catch of the Day ...... Not another fish (sigh)

Furballs' Catch of the Day was inspired by my furballs and a further extension to the Dumb(Fur)be(a)lls' pattern.  I had said I would not publish the DumbFurballs but perhaps I will change my mind later lol

It all started when I somehow getting tired of knitting in flat and need something different to keep my interest going.  So I went back to my root which was knitting seamless or 3D objects like cat toys. 

Whenever I use kitchen mittens or hot pads to handle scorching pot handles and lids, I will wish those things could be more fitting or smaller so they will not dip / touch the food. 

So combining my need and the experience in knitted toy, I came up with the DumbFurball first.  Then I held an adhoc conference with the furball executives and agreed on the fish theme.

The stitch patterns were chosen and designed for the best grip possible with knitted item.  Stitch pattern is reverse in the centre for a better folding compliance.  Adding an intarsia pattern and a small fish tail completed the whole picture.

The little fishy is now available in my Ravelry store.

Happy Knitting :)

We want Cheese !!!!

In my household, the black and white furball is the diary master and will taste anything from milk to toast.  He loves cheese too and really doesn't matter what type lol

While I am getting bored knitting in flat all the time, I tried to switch to something that interested me and mindlessly started knitting in rounds.  Then, the tabby furball stared at me all night and the idea of a cat toy was underway.  Doing a quick research on Ravelry database, I find that the cheese patterns were published a few times but all are seamed.  As I looked at the shape, I asked myself, "Does it need to be seamed?" My answer was no.  I was sure it could be done in one string and seamless, and there went my knitting trial and making up samples.

The first thing was to get the shape right: elongated triangle with an arc edge.  That was not too difficult.

Second thing was to build up the 3D object: knitting in rounds and modular knitting were what I was looking for.

Finally needed to tried out the stitches to see how it looked and there came the sample.

For an interesting surface texture, I added some knit / purl pattern to resemble the holes in cheese.

I think it took about two to three days to make up all that and wrote out the pattern.  Knit test took another two weeks or so.  The best part of all that was that knit testers' little furballs all loved the cheese :D  I don't think it is all about the catnip in the toys, more like the love and attention spend on making it for them.  The furballs know :D

A Piece of ……. Cheese is now available in my Ravelry store

Happy Knitting :)