Blue Bobbi

Yesterday I:

• had hashbrowns and a tofu dog for breakfast with coffee
• had a seitan "cheese steak" with domestic feta, broccoli sprouts, and kalamata olives with a beer for dinner
• had a cheese panini for lunch with a soy latte
• worked obsessively on Bobbi Bear

Bobbi Bear

Pattern: Baby Bobbi Bear by Blue Sky Alpacas

Size: One

Yarn: less than one ball Blue Cotton Ease and a ball of brown Sugar n' Cream for a sweater

Modifications: Since I wasn't using the specified yarn I used US #7 dpns to get a good fabric density. To keep things in proportion when the pattern called for a knitting a specific length I substituted the number of rows I that would have been worked in the original gauge. For instance, the original gauge was 4 sts and 5 rows = 1", so when the pattern called for knitting 3", I knit 15 rows (5 x 3).

Comments: I said I was going to pace myself with this project, but apparently I meant "fast pace". The Cotton Ease was pleasant to work with, and the pattern pretty logical. Still, I managed to goof up at least 3 times. Fortunately, I have a past of goofing up and have fix-it skills that, alas, outshine my knitting skills, so I was not delayed too long by this.

The instructions give no indication that I noticed when it should be stuffed, so I stuffed it as I went. This was quite inconvenient, esp. when it came to making the arms. Also, embroidering cotton is, to put it briefly, hell. I suggest doing it before stuffing the head, rather than after, like I did.

The sweater was worked up on US #7 dpns using the brown Sugar n' Cream. The back fits well, but the front overlaps too much. I'm going to cut the edges of the button flap an make the corrections, but not today. I think I've seen enough of this bear for a little while.