Two Blind Mice (And Four Sighted Ones)

On Ravelry I am part of a group called 'Selfish Knitters'. That is, people who almost solely knit for themselves. Sounds a bit mean, sure, but after last year with all the Christmas presents, I suddenly realised I hadn't a single object that I had made for me. As it happens, only three out of thirteen of my projects on Ravelry I've kept; one was a very simple crocheted tube for storing my crochet hooks in and the other two are works in progress.

I'm a terrible selfish knitter, but I have recently bought loads of new patterns for gloves, jumpers, etc., with only myself in mind so, for the most part, from here on in, my knitting is for me. I'm the one who pays for the materials and puts the effort in, so shouldn't I get something nice at the end of it? Anyway, I digress. Although I've made the decision to become a (more) selfish knitter, every now and then something pops up that actually, you know what? Is going to be completely selfless. And this project, is exactly that.

Humble beginnings...

At the beginning of August, the woman who taught me how to knit (what, two years ago now? Jeez, and I still consider myself a knitting newbie) put out an open request for a knitting project. It was something she needed doing but simply didn't have the time. I felt that as she had, freely, taught me knitting and has been a source of help in all things yarn related that I just couldn't pass up the chance to return the favour. It was, genuinely, quite wonderful to be able to do something in return. Yes, I picked up the needles two years ago, but I originally did it so as to have something to keep me busy at re-enactments (between all the other jobs that keep me busy), rather than as something to take up as a proper hobby. But it became more than 'just a re-enacting' thing; it became something I genuinely love doing. Something that keeps my creativity going. Something that, when I finish, I get excited about and proud of myself (forget a degree, look! I KNITTED SOMETHING.) I never thought that something so 'daft' such as knitting would become such a big part of my life. And, sure, my mentor could not have known that either (or, maybe, being an avid knitter herself she knew exactly what she was getting me in to) but, certainly, without her help it is a hobby, a craft, that would otherwise remained a complete mystery to me. So, if you're reading this, thank you so much. You gave me so much more than just the knowledge on how to knit; you gave me something to enjoy, to become proud of, to explore and learn. I just thought knitting a few, toy mice was the least I could do.

So what was this knitting project exactly? Well, as the title and previous may have given away, it was six toy mice. Two adult mice (mummy and daddy mouse), two children mice (sister and brother) and two baby mice (so one could be asleep and the other awake). Originally I thought this would be a fairly quick project, but, although individually the mice knitted up reasonably quickly, the number meant that this was a fairly time consuming project. I think, in total, it took about three and a half weeks for me to knit all of them.

I-Cord Tail

Now, this pattern was a wonderfully easy pattern. It was a nice change from the project I was (still am) half way through, which I'd probably rate about a seven out of ten for difficulty compared to the mice's three. They're the harder end of beginner, or possibly the easier end of intermediate. Bridging the gap, maybe? I'd certainly recommend this pattern to any beginner knitters wishing to expand on their techniques. Part of the reason I found this pattern so easy was because it was knitted on the round; I'm most comfortable when knitting on the round as this is (unusually) how I began. Straights (that's two needles, flat knitting) didn't half feel peculiar the first time I used them! For this pattern, I used between two and three plus one needles (two/three being the amount of needles with stitches on and the 'plus one' referring to my working needle; what would be the right hand needle in straight knitting). Apart from the baby mouse, which was the child mouse pattern on smaller needles. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a hold of any 3mm DPNs, which meant I was forced, for only the second time in my knitting career, to use... Circular needles. Now, for those unfamiliar with knitting (and I do apologise, because this blog is linked to Ravelry, meaning a lot of people more versed in knitting than I am read this, but I also know full well that I have Facebook friends who wouldn't know the difference between a DPN and a crochet hook if it stabbed them, which we all know can be a painful experience) DPNs are, as the full name suggests, double pointed needles. Circulars? They are essentially two straight (single pointed) needles, attached with a piece of tubing or metal, so as to create the same effect as knitting on multiple DPNs, that is 'knitting on the round', or, producing a seamless tube instead of a flat piece of knitting.

Damnable circulars!

Anyway. I remember a long time ago I joined a discussion online about whether people preferred DPNs or circulars. I was in the minority (and it was the minority by quite a gap!) in using DPNs. The vast majority of people seemed to either struggle with DPNs or just preferred the ease of circulars. At the time I hadn't even tried circulars and, ultimately, decided to stick with what I knew, which is why I continued to buy DPNs over circulars whenever a project called for it. Some people even preferred circulars to straights! As a newbie knitter I was under the impression that circulars were a miracle send to the knitting world and I was a bit of an oddball for preferring (or only knowing how) to knit on a billion needles and in doing so increasing my chance of stabbing myself on something pointy tenfold. And this project was my second project on circulars (and the first where I'd been knitting in the round, rather than using them as straights); so, surely, I am a through and through circular convert now? I have thrown all of my DPNs and straights to the wind and replaced them all with the glory and wonder than is circulars?

No. I despise circulars. I honestly don't know how people can use them, or find them easier to DPNs. DPNs are a piece of-; it's just straight knitting with extra needles! Easy as! Circulars, however! Oh, the yarn gets tangled, and then it loops around the needles and the working yarn accidentally gets knitted into a stitch and it flops about and the tubing pulls everything which way and JUST NO. Never, ever, ever. Nope. I am declaring war against circulars. I will march with my armies of DPNs against the evil that is circulars. To make matters worse, you know that delightful M1 stitch that I love so much? Yeah, that made a regular appearance in the pattern too. Between the circulars and the M1 stitch I'm surprised I had the emotional energy left to finish the mice.

The start of Kitchener stitch.

How Kitchener stitch should
look.

My first, botched, Kitchener stitch.

Still, circulars aren't the only thing I experienced in the course of this pattern and perhaps the befuddlement of circulars is a small price to pay for picking up Kitchener stitch in no time. Kitchener stitch, also known as grafting, is a sewing looking it up. Now, from the brief amount of research I did on Kitchener stitch (because before now I had NO idea what it was or how to do it) it seems that a lot of knitters struggle with it. Someone said that part of the dislike for Kitchener stitch was simply the fact it was sewing and not knitting (although I did find a tutorial on how to knit Kitchener rather than sew it, but I never tried it out), but I also get the impression that it confuddles people. I don't know. I think it's a bit like that awful yeast based spread product; you either get it, or you don't. And I fall into the former camp (for Kitchener, not Marmite). It just makes sense to me. It's P1 front, K1 back, (K1, S1 off needle, P1) front, (P1, S1 off needle, K1) back, repeat until done. I mean, my Kitchener stitch is far from perfect (and my first attempt I bodged) but it really doesn't seem as difficult as other people make it out to be. I don't know. Maybe it's not that uncommon to understand it and I've just found the wrong sources, or maybe I'm one of the lucky ones who can do it, problem free. Whichever it is, it's a great sewing technique. I love the finish it gives and I'm really glad I got a chance to learn it. Apparently, it's a very common method for finishing off socks, although not one I've used before (I just sew them closed). Definitely be using it for my next pair!

(yes, sewing, not knitting) method used at the end of a knitted piece instead of casting off; it's used to create a seamless piece of fabric, by making it appear as if the knitting from either side is continual. It's... Not that easy to explain in text alone and I never was any good at teaching so if you really want to know what on Earth I'm on about I'd recommend

Turkish Cast On

A few rows later...

My first, terrible Turkish Cast On.

My last, better, Turkish Cast
On.

Alongside learning a new way of finishing a project, I also learnt a new way of casting on. It's called Turkish Cast on. the pattern originally states (which did have me confused) that I needed two pairs of circulars for this cast on method. Fortunately, I found tutorials for both how to cast on using DPNs and a single set of circulars. I stall have no idea (or aspiration to find out) how to do this cast on method with two circulars. It just... Seems a bit redundant to me. Anyway, this cast on method is very similar to Kitchener stitch in how it looks. It creates a seamless piece of fabric. So, match the two together and you end up with a piece of knitting that seemingly has no beginning or end. It's great! My Turkish Cast on isn't as nice as my Kitchener stitch; then again, I struggle a little more with it. It's not overly difficult, but it requires wrapping the yarn around two needles, instead of regular cast on, which only uses one. You then knit into the wrapped around stitches and somehow, miraculously, end up with a piece of knitting with no edge. It looks really nice. Again, I find Turkish Cast on a million times easier on DPNs than on circulars, although I get a tighter, less noticeable cast on when I do use circulars... Not enough to make me a convert though; I'll just iron out my DPN problems.

That scene from the Exorcist.

Most of the body parts were knitted on the round, starting with Turkish Cast on, finishing with Kitchener stitch. The ears were knitted flat and the tail was i-cord (you always knit from the right and never flip the work), which again, was something I hadn't experienced before. So although this was an easy pattern, I actually learnt a lot from it. It was a really fun project; partly because it was selfless, partly because I learnt so much, partly because it wasn't frustrating. It was just... Fun. Which was really nice and made a change from doing something challenging. The mice came out really cute, too. I may have to knit one for myself (no, I'm not sick of the pattern yet, six mice on). Plastic eyes were added for the four older mice. I only wish I'd used a different colour yarn for my stitch marker when knitting them up. One thing I hadn't expected (which wasn't an issue) was because of the way each piece was finished, it meant they needed to be stuffed while still on the needles. I had been expecting to cast off, stuff and sew closed. Ah, stuffing toys. I'm going to become an expert at this rate. Once I'd knitted all the components (forty-eight in total), I packaged them up and sent them away. I'd been told they would be assembled, and my friend wanted to add wire to make them poseable and such, so I figured it was best to leave that to her.

Beady little eyes...

Overall, I really enjoyed doing this. It's such a lovely pattern; simple, but effective and the end product is so cute. I'm really glad I got a chance to knit it. It's a pattern that was already in my Ravelry library, but one I probably was never going to do, until this chance popped up.

Oh, and if anyone reading this needs any parenting help, queries or is in need of nannying services, you should definitely check out Orchard Green. This isn't as random an endorsement as it seems, however out of the blue it appears. This is said friend who taught me knitting. She's such a lovely person and very knowledgeable.

All bagged up!

In closing; three types of yarn were used. Two DK, in white and oatmeal (Stylecraft pure wool) and one in four ply, again, white (Four Seasons Hot Socks Uni). The white DK was for the adult and children mice, the four ply for the babies. The oatmeal was used for the tails and inner ears (except on the babies who had pure white ears). The adult and children mice used 4mm DPNs, while the baby mice required 3mm circulars; pattern stipulated double circulars for both sizes, but I substituted. 4mm push fit eyes were used for adults and children, while babies had their eyes embroidered (not by me). Pattern is Mouse by ViolaSueKnits. Pattern also gives instructions for mice sized scarf and hat, but these were not knitted.

That's next to 10p.

Bendy arms!

Hello Mr. Mouse.