Pattern Notes: This Birdie Has Flown

It seems that there has been no end to the babies this year. And since many of the intended recipients' mommies prefer primary colors to pastels and because green is the new pink (and arguably the new blue) I have been knitting, knitting, knitting away on many little green things. To mix it up a little I decided to make the most recent little Tadpole a knitted toy, since I had it on very good authority that she was likely to receive many knitted gifts. My guess is that knitters often make clothing for babies (I do!), so I thought a toy would be unique and fun to make. Hence, Birdie:

Shhh! I'm nesting....

Birdie
Designs for Kids, by Lucinda Guy
Knit with half a skein 123 yards/113 meters/skein) each of Rowan's Wool Cotton (50% Merino/50%Cotton) in Laurel (960) and Mellow Yellow (942) on Addi Turbo 24" circulars in size US4 (3.0mm), in a gauge of 22 sts and 36 rows per 4 inches in Stst.

Size: one.

The Pattern:
Let me start by saying that Lucinda Guy's Designs for Kids is a charming, whimsical book. It has a lot of really wonderful projects in it (scroll down on the book link to take a look at some others), and as I look at it again, I am reminded of all the silly little things I would like to make from it. There are quite a few.

That said, the Birdie pattern is really about the result more than the process. It involves knitting (& crocheting!) many little triangles and other parts and then sewing them together. The tedium of all the fiddly sewing is lessened only by the fact that you can avoid weaving in most of the ends by stuffing them inside the bird as you seam, and you can utilize the others to do the seaming itself.

To be honest, by the time I got to crocheting the eyeballs, I was completely out of gas. I was going to be a good girl and teach myself how to crochet a circle (I learn crochet on an "as needed" basis!), but instead I shamelessly pooped out and enlisted a little help. (Thank you, Ms. Marnie!)

Do I think there's anything wrong with the pattern? No! Would I make it again? Absolutely! I just want to warn all you shower knitters out there that if you sign up to make a Birdie for the little wee one in your life it might be a little bit of a pain in the ass. It will be worth it, though. The finished bird is very cute.*

Modifications:
I changed the yarn and therefore the guage. The pattern is pretty amenable to fudging. The original is made using Rowan's Cotton Glace, which I'm sure is very lovely, but which probably shows more mistakes. I also stubbornly refused to seam as called for in the instructions and instead mattress-stitched (and none too gracefully I might add). You should probably go with the original instructions on that one. Mine looks decidedly homemade. Although I find that charming, I'd do it differently the second time around.

Impressions of Rowan's Wool Cotton:
I've spoken highly of this yarn in the recent past, and have used it for three projects this year already with a fourth (and possibly a fifth) on the way. Rowan's Wool Cotton and Karabella's Aurora 8 are my standby yarns - good for just about anything, reliable, wonderful hand, great stitch definition and machine washable. They're also fairly easy to find.

Possible substitute yarns:
I would use the yarn called for in the pattern - Rowan Cotton Glace - if you want to avoid re-guaging and/or fudging. If you're looking for a substitute for the yarn itself, Jaeger's Extrafine Merino DK is one of my favorites (but not for kids - it isn't machine washable!)

Tips for Making Birdie:
Patience, grasshopper. That's all you need. It's fiddly, but relatively quick.

Gratuitous Birdie Photos:

*It's also useful. For several days before I mailed it off, Moxie used it as a "watch bird" to keep the kitties from jumping on top of his beloved speakers. Perhaps he needs one of his own?