crafts & knitting · new patterns

New Patterns: The Squirrels

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)3 Comments

 

 

It makes me very happy today to pop in here with news that my latest 9 inch animal pattern is ready to share. This is a pattern for a squirrel, which you can either make as a red squirrel with little tufty ears, or a grey squirrel without tufts.

As usual with my patterns there are 2 options: one for a squirrel in a removable dress with knitted on shoes and tights; and one for a squirrel in a removable sweater and shorts.

The squirrel in a dress pattern comes with these 3 dress options:

There is one that is worked in a single colour and has an openwork textured design, reminiscent of acorns. And two colour-work dresses, one with a bold acorn and oakleaf design that wraps around the lower skirt and the other that has a contrast coloured border dotted with small acorns.

 

 

The squirrel in a sweater pattern comes with these 3 sweater options.

There’s a plain stocking stitch sweater, knitted in a single colour and then a large acorn colour-work design is added in duplicate stitch afterwards. There is a chart for this in the pattern, and if you prefer you could choose to follow this and use the intarsia method to knit in the acorn design as you go.

There are also two textured sweaters, one a very simple knit and purl textured pattern, and the other a little more complex and with a bolder texture created by a combination of double increases and decreases.

Also included are a pair of shorts that have a functional button closure at the waist in order to accommodate the large tail.

 

Both patterns are now live on Ravelry and Etsy and because I recently had a small price increase (the first in 12 years) I’ve also increased the discount for buying any 2 or more LCR patterns in the same transaction to a 20% discount on the basket total. Mentioning it in case you wanted to get any of my other patterns at the same time in order to get the 20% off.

As always I am really excited to see what other people make with these new patterns, so if you do give either of them a go please do consider sharing a picture on social media or on either the Little Cotton Rabbits Facebook Group or the Ravelry group, I’d love to see what you’ve made.

Well I’m off to finish a couple of grey squirrels, because only their heads made it in to the pattern so I’m feeling a bit sorry for them, ’til next time keep well and happy, J x

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A little note on purchasing:

Ravelry have a really efficient and easy to use email delivery system of the download links and it is very rare that customers have any issues, (the vast majority of the issues that do occur are down to buyer input errors of email addresses).

If you choose to purchase via Ravelry I will actually get to keep a little more of the money that you pay for the pattern (Etsy seller fees are much higher than ravelry and I have to pay them at least a quarter every single sale, and almost double that if you click on an Etsy ad for my shop on google or pinterest, as they will then also charge me an advertising fee on anything you purchase from my Etsy shop anytime in the next month, even if you are an existing customer of mine).

If you do choose to use Etsy then please, please, please don’t check out as a guest, because if you do not receive the emailed link that they automatically send it is almost impossible for me to help you. Instead log in to an Etsy account first, and that way it is very easy for me to help if you have any problems as the files will be stored forever for you in your Etsy purchase history. And remember that Etsy do not allow you to download any digital purchases via the app, so you will need to log into your account via your browser to access files.

 

countryside · crafts & knitting · in the woods · wildlife

June: dog roses, daisies and dragonflies

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)Leave a comment

 

 

Many of the places where Toby and I take our weekly walks are designated nature reserves, and so are a haven to all kinds of wildlife, from tiny insects and invertebrates, right up to large mammals such as badgers and deer. One of the best things about walking most days is the chance to see the different species that come with the changing seasons, and in June summer has arrived with us. Within the hedgerows and all along the path margins there is now verdant growth, and it seems that every leaf is home to some small creature; all manner of insect larvae, caterpillars, beetles, flies, bees and spiders. I carry my secateurs on all of our walks, though perhaps a machete would be more appropriate as our familiar pathways are frequently overgrown by new growth since the previous week and we trim our way through again. I’m constantly saying ‘careful, stingers’ and ‘mind the prickles’ to Toby so that he doesn’t brush against the stinging nettles or snag himself on the brambles and wild roses that continually encroach on our route.

The beginning of June was cool and green and usually this month is the segue between spring and summer, but this year there was no gentle transition and the full force of summer heat quickly arrived. Now at the end of June the countryside is beginning to look parched and I’m hoping that some rain arrives with us soon. We’ve had it forecast a couple of times, but it seems to evaporate on it’s way across the country before reaching this south east corner. We could do with some good old English summer weather, ie. torrential rain 🙂

Knitting is not something that I enjoy much in weather this hot, but I have been making good progress on my new 9 inch animal and the patterns have just gone out to be tested with a lovely group of people who are likely to be a lot better at error spotting than I am right now – towards the end of a pattern you tend to be blind to the mistakes that you know are in there somewhere. Anyway, as it will be ready in the next couple of weeks I thought it was time to reveal what I’ve been working on, so first a clue in the form of a riddle…

Red or grey or rare times black,

tail curled across my back,

storing nuts for winter time,

in a treetop home to where I climb.

and then a picture…

(and yes, that is a basket full of failed tails, 19 of them!)

I’ll post full details as soon as the patterns have been fully checked and are ready to share, ’til then I hope you have a good couple of weeks where you are, J x

 

Nature notes from June:

  • Week 1: Some of the hedgerows at Panshanger are being decimated by ermine moth caterpillars, many thousands of them congregate, eat all the leaves and weave their webs, completely covering some of the trees. The webs are amazingly thick and strong and look devastating to the tree, but once the caterpillars pupate they will recover and regrow leaves.
  • Week 2: Dog rose, daisies and cow parsley are everywhere, simple beauty and a magnet for bees, beetles and hoverflies
  • Week 3: Out in the woods there are insects everywhere you look, nature is a marvel, also spotted some summer fungi on a tree
  • Week 4: This week has been the hottest so far, too hot to sleep well at night and the constant sun is parching the woods and countryside. All of the streams and brooks that run through the woods are now completely dry, and I look through the exposed pebbles on the stream bed for hag stones

 

countryside · foxes in my garden · in the woods · wildlife

May: and the full glory of Spring

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)Leave a comment

There is something so exuberant and joyful about May, and this one in particular has been sublime as we’ve had such amazing weather, with each day warm, dry and sunny. The dependable sun has warmed the land and Spring has now arrived with a flourish. Everything is freshly green and blossoming, perfuming the breezes with an ever changing array of floral scents. Out in the woods the trees have grown a connected canopy of dense leaves and the lanes that we drive along on our way to and from the woods are once again secret, shady tunnels. It is such a beautiful time to be out in the countryside, so much is happening and every walk we go on brings new delights to see and enjoy. I’ve paid my annual spring visit to the orchard where I spent a wonderful few hours just wandering quietly with my camera. At lunch time I sat by the little pond and watched a pair of Canada geese shepherd their 5 small chicks across to the other side.

Back at home I’ve enjoyed my first garden knitting session of the season, it’s lovely to sit outside again on Toby’s swing and listen to the birds in the tree above me and I look forward to more gently swinging garden knitting time over the next few months.

The highlight of the month though was on May 2nd, when just after 8pm Katsue brought her cub with her for a visit, he’s quite shy but obviously just weaned on to solid foods as he ran over to investigate what his mum was eating. I had to take pictures through the window as he was very skittish and wary of us and we were all enthralled, holding our breath and hoping for the moment to last. I was so pleased that Amy got to see a cub this time as she missed the time that Kit brought her 3 cubs to visit. It seems that Katsue just has the one cub, as we’ve not seen any others and although she’s taking plenty of food away each time the cub has not been back to our garden for a couple of weeks. He’ll be hidden away somewhere safe, and growing a little each day under the watchful eye and dedicated care of his mum.

In knitting news there’s not much to tell. I’m so eager to share details on the latest animal design but I’m going to have to keep you in suspense just a little longer, as it is not yet close enough to being finished. We have however started photography so it is progressing. Once we’ve finished all of the shots and I’ve got the layouts done I’ll be in a position to reveal its identity.

Well, I hope that things have been good for you this last month and that the coming month brings some small joys your way. I’ll see you again in a few weeks with notes of what we’ve been up to in June, J x

Nature notes from May:

  • Week 1:  The bluebells are at their peak and filling the whole wood with their wonderful scent. May 3rd, heard the first cuckoo and saw newly emerged damsel flies. Buttercups and cowslips are out in the meadows. Oak galls are visible amongst the new oak leaves, in a month or so they’ll harden into small brown balls, but right now they are pretty and pink.
  • Week 2:  Hedgerows are in full froth, with hawthorn blossom (also known as May blossom) thick on the branches above and great drifts of cow parsley below. Saw the first swallows of the season, just arrived from their long journey from Africa. First dragonflies spotted at the Panshanger lake.
  • Week 3:  It’s apple blossom time and the old, gnarled trees at the orchard wear their most beautiful attire of the year. A thick carpet of pungent wild garlic covers the floor of the small wood, a beautiful galaxy of star like flowers.
  • Week 4:  The great tit chicks fledged the nest box into the big, wide world. Rain arrived at last, not much but so very needed after such a long dry spell, the petrichor smell is wonderful.