Of knitted cats and bunnies...

I am a fairly competent knitter. No, really. I am. But, when I decided to knit a blue kitty, I did run into a little trouble...see what I mean?

I mean, it was a very easy, fun-to-knit pattern, and it turned out pretty cute...but it doesn't look much like a kitty. Even Dollface, when she saw it the first time, said, "Ohhh! It's sooo cute!"

"It's a cat," I answered.

"Oh...," said she, deadpan. "Maybe you should just tell them it's a mouse or something."

o_0

Oh, well. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again," is what they say, so I did. But attempt number two looked more like a gremlin (from the 1984 movie) than a kitty...

...the tail helped. It helped a lot. Now it looks like a cat, Dare I say that it's even cuter than a gremlin? I do dare...

That tail turned a gremlin into a cat, and it redeemed my kitty-knitting self just enough that I thought I'd even try something new...tiny bunnies for Easter. (By the way, these were designed as catnip toys, but mine are for a toddler, so I left the "herbs" out completely...) Just like the cats, this pattern was really easy, and well-written, but flat-and-double-knitted just isn't my thing. So I decided to knit it in the round, diving right in, without thinking about it too much...but that first bunny turned out very tall.

In my head, I should have instinctively known that I only needed to knit half the rows listed in the pattern, since I was knitting in the round. Instead, I messaged the designer and accused her of penning a poor pattern (mind you, I did this as politely as possible)...and she answered quickly. I was apparently not the first accuser (I told myself over and over again, perhaps to ice down my bruised ego a bit), the fix was easy (only knit half as many rounds as rows), and her answer was gracious. Thank you!, and I'm sorry for doubting you, dear designer! Armed with my mental edits, I knit a second. And a third. And a fourth, fifth and sixth!

They flew off my needles, multiplying like, well...like rabbits! (If you include the first, tall rabbit, there have been seven.) And they all ran outside to play...

Laughing, and jumping in the ice-crystal diamonds, sparkly leftovers from an early spring snowstorm...rabbits can be CRAZY!

Note: I am a fan of the faceless toys...it's totally up to you how they feel when you play, and that encourages creativity and story-telling, two of my favorite things! (That, and I am a  little lazy sometimes.)

I hope that my darling Peanut will enjoy finding them in my bag on our next trip to her far-away home...they are so good for tossing and hopping and counting and practicing colors, I can't wait to share them! Patience is not something I am good at when it comes to seeing my granddaughter...so it's a good thing our visits are not too few and far between! Yay!

Another "Yay!" is that Easter is tomorrow. I guess I better get to the basket-making...and hiding! I hope that you have all your ducks in a row, and that you will have a nice celebration, if you celebrate. :)

I also hope that the holiday will afford you at least a little bit of knitting time! Knit in Good Health, friends!