Instant Knitification: Seven Blind Mice

Not-So-Big Knitting

I have a short attention span. I know many of you do too, or you would not have all those Unfinished Objects (Exhibit A) lurking about and enormous yarn stashes multiplying behind your backs, each skein hoping fervently to be chosen next (Exhibit B).
I love to learn knitterly things: lace, fair isle, cabling or felting. I am intrigued at the beginning, but once I have learned each new technique, I lose interest and, yes, start something else. This pattern of behavior has led me to seek small projects that I might actually complete.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Seven Blind Mice

Fourteen Ears, Seven Tails, and Zero Eyes

"Seven Blind Mice" is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Ed Young. The characters are seven differently colored mice who are sightless, which is an important part of the story.

Seven Blind Mice
by Ed Young

Each mouse goes out one day to explore by touch a large, mysterious object that has appeared, and each comes back with a different interpretation of what the mystery is depending on the part of the object it explored. Finally in the end, the mice put their experiences together to discover the real identity of the object, an elephant.

I knitted the mice out of very small quantities of feltable wool. The pattern, called Knit Felted Catnip Mice, is by Jen Kuback on ravelry.com . It is as easy as pie to knit. I skipped the catnip.

Each mouse is 3-3 1/2 inches long without tail after felting. I don't remember what size needles I used. If they are too big, more time agitating in hot water will shrink them some, but you may have to experiment if you are looking for a particular size.

The mice are designed to be stuffed and sewn shut, but I left the hole open before felting to make them usable as finger puppets for children. I also didn't add eyes since the mice in the story are blind. To make a mouse with eyes, you can add a stitch or two of a contrasting color before felting, or sew on beads as long as child or pet safety is not a concern. These little colorful mice are very popular with kids and quick fun to make. Now I just need to knit a big elephant to go with them.

Extreme Knits
This section of my post is dedicated to sharing examples of extreme knitting that make me wonder about the designer's sanity. I just am speechless about this one. I feel so inadequate in every way just looking at it. This knitted skeleton was part of a display created by Ben Cueva. See it at http://bencuevas.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/transcending-the-material/.