The Unicorn & the Tabby Cat

A couple of months ago, my nieces came over to spend the day with me. We played lots of games, ate crisps & binged watched My Little Pony - it was all jolly good fun. As the day began to draw to a close, Daisy and I were tucked up in my bed watching Barbie videos on my iPad. She whispered to me,

"What are you knitting Aunty Lolly?",

"I'm knitting Aunty KitKat a pair of gauntlets."

"Ohhh...", she hushed. "Will you make me something?"

"Of course I will, Pea. What would you like?"

"Ummmmmm....", she mumbled. You could see her brain working away, trying to figure out the perfect thing to ask for. "I would like.... A unicorn!!!"

"A unicorn!" I laughed. 

"Yes. I want a white & purple unicorn."

"Okay!" I giggled. At this moment, Tilly wandered in, she'd obviously overheard the conversation on her way up to my room.

"Aunty Lolly, I would like you to make me a, um, cat!" A pink cat!"

"Pink? Okay.... I'm not sure if I have pink but I'll try my best."

"And I would like it to, um, look like a, ur, cartoon. Like a cartoon cat, but pink!"

Once they had settled on what they wanted, I set to work trying to find patterns for these unique requests. A couple of clicks later, & I had bought Pegacorn by Phoeny (who is an avid toy designer, I highly suggest you check her out, I've already added a few of them to my queue!). After a dig through my stash, I found Wendy Peter Pan Double Knit in 3003 (purple) & 3000 (white) - perfect! I had noticed on the cover page of the pattern, that a Raveler by the name of Loopylooloo, had made a white & purple unicorn called Margaret that was exactly what Daisy wanted! So I decided to copy hers (sorry Louise, I hope you don't mind!). 

The pattern itself is incredibly quick and simple! The next day I had a really big Marvel marathon, and by the end of it I had knitted a unicorn! :D The tricky part was stuffing & sewing it all. Anyone who has been reading my blog for a while will know that I suck at sewing (I am so bad at sewing, that when I did Textiles at school, I would end up sewing myself to the sewing machine EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. It was so embarrassing!), but I am trying really hard to get better.

Once I got into the swing of it, I really started to enjoy myself! Until it came to the horn - and then I just wanted to throw it all in the bin! I ended up sewing the horn in the wrong place (it's in the middle of his head, rather than on his forehead), and I couldn't unpick it. I took a few deep breaths, sewed on the hair (which I didn't sew enough off - doh! So now it's a balding unicorn!) and put it on a high shelf so I couldn't see it. 

Then it was time to start on the cartoon cat! I couldn't find a pattern that was the spitting image off what Tilly wanted, but I did manage to find an anime cat pattern which looked pretty close! And that came in the form of Amineko Cat Pattern by Chiwaluv Amigurumi Critters. It was originally a crocheted pattern, but it was so popular that she ended up designing the knitted version - yay! I'm realising though, that if I want to make the best toys for my girls, I need to learn how to crochet! The patterns are so much cuter. 

Anyway...so once I had the pattern I had to find the yarn. After pretty much emptying my stash, I realised I, a) didn't have enough pink yarn to make a cat, b) couldn't buy anymore because my stash was at bursting point. So, I had to improvise. I remembered that a few months before (maybe even a year? I'm not sure...), I had randomly bought a skein of Robin Double Knit Print in 197, and it has sat in my stash for so long, because I couldn't find a pattern that would be perfect for the yarn. Until now! :D

The pattern itself was so simple, which made it a perfect TV knit. Now, the problem is, I get incredibly bored with stockinette. I'm okay for about half an hour, but I start to get really, really bored. So, I ended up setting it down a lot & working on something else, like Brenna's Disney Blanket or my Beekeeper's Quilt. So it wasn't until five days later that I actually finished all the knitting of this little kitty cat & had sewn it all together!

I'm really relatively pleased with how they turned out, & the girls are chuffed to bits with them! Which is all I could ask for! :D

All in all, I really enjoyed these projects and would highly recommend the patterns if you have some little ones in your life! ^-^