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(I have been using patterns by Claire Garland from Dot Pebbles Knit for most of these little animals. She has a fab Instagram account. Shoes are sadly not made by me but from various sellers.)
Hello Knitting Cabbage Heads,
(I write up the story of these froglets because their stories happen mainly over on Notes, and I know some people only see posts not Notes)
Today we have the story of Wol, Piglet, and Pooh bear. The lovely Claire Garland has patterns for many, many things many, many of which I am itching to do. These are also her patterns. But frogs is what most people want so frogs is what they get. And I still have 6 waiting in the original frog Pool of Life and I must get them finished at some point.
However, my good old AuDHD brain needs a bit of variety every now and then and Claire’s Winnie the Pooh patterns (the copyright having lapsed) came up last year and I’ve been gradually adding them to my stash on Ravelry. (For anyone who is a knitter, Claire’s patterns are very reasonably priced.) In a moment of ‘I can’t knit another frog leg again.’ I picked the Piglet pattern and started.
I worked on sculpting the face a bit between those last 2 photos. It’s always the bit I struggle with the most. I’ve not yet worked out why. But somehow it works out in the end. I am beginning to look at less fluffy yarns which may help but I do still have a lot of this alpaca yarn left and really should use it up. I loved those pink ears. Now Piglet doesn’t normally wear shoes, but Piglet isn’t normally made of yarn and though he could just about balance without them shoes certainly made hi pm much more stable. I quite enjoyed making him.
Of course if you are going to make a Piglet you really should make a Pooh Bear. Oh dear, oh dear me. I got off to a bad start. I jumped the gun a bit and made a right hash of the first attempt. I hadn’t got any noses and had to order them. I got bored and fidgety and popped the eyes in without waiting for the noses to turn up. BIG MISTAKE. You need the nose in to work out where the eyes go other wise you end up with a bear that doesn’t look like Pooh.
I did actually end up cutting this one up in an ill guided/fated attempt to reuse the yarn. But I had sewn him up so well it wasn’t possible. There is so much shaping etc to the stomach and face it just doesn’t frog back well. I should have just left him be. I did manage to reuse the eyes, nose and stuffing though. My next attempt was much better and the resemblance I felt was good. It’s amazing how much difference the eye placement made. It also made stuffing the head properly much easier. Piglet was very happy once he found Pooh.
I even made him a little honey pot.
Both Piglet and Pooh have zoomed off to the USA to spread some much needed sticky honey covered cheer.
Lastly I made a Wol, (owl). (I do have Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Wabbit, and Tigger patterns waiting in the wings but sadly not the time to make them at the moment.) But an owl was requested so I made an owl. It really is a pattern where you need to trust it. I worried for a long time he wouldn’t work. It’s the little details that make all the difference. The tiny buttons used as talons, the shading round his head, the wiring in the toes so he can grip a quill, the glasses, the teeny little beak. I absolutely adored posing him with books, quill, and bottles. He really came to life for me then.
This Wol also went to live in the USA where he is hopefully dispensing his usual wisdom with charming alacrity.
And that’s that. I have so many plans for the next time I have time away from frogs. Beatrix Potter, Wind in the Willows, and of course finishing Winnie the Pooh characters. As usual I am happy to make more. Just message me.
And so that’s all folks. Till next time, Tx
Froglets🐸, other animals🐇🦊🦡🐭🐘🦏🦎🦥🦧etc, and other miniatures are (or will be) available from me on here (message me). You can also find them at My Website. They are considered collectibles, are unsuitable for under 14s due to the wires, are not CE/UKCA tested (collectibles do not need to be), and are therefore priced as such. Also contact me here if you fancy something you see or don’t see, I’m always open to suggestions. I do have ME/CFS and making and photographing them etc all takes a lot of energy and is a very slow process. I do knit to order too, but be aware a froglet with a jumper takes up to a week for me to make on average. The smaller they are the longer they take as they are more intricate and fiddly. Thank you muchly.
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awww! i love them!!!
Love, love, love these!!