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/.

Created by Ben Cueva

It is an incredible work of art and just blows me away.  See the little facets on the vertebrae? I'm pretty sure I would have left them off.

from chiro.org

Still Life With Vegetables

From Peppers to Pumpkins

It's not a Van Gogh, but my felted vegetable collection makes a fine still life, doesn't it? Each little vegetable was satisfying to knit and to felt. I love felting. It's like magic to me. Wool + hot water+ agitation = felt. Presto chango! Just make sure you use wool that is feltable, not superwash. Details below.

Each vegetable was knitted using pure wool, stuffing it loosely before sewing up the opening. Then I put them in my washing machine on hot with a little bit of detergent. Some of the vegies took longer than others to felt; I just had to keep checking them. Then I rinsed them with cold water and gently squeezed out extra water and/or blotted with a towel. Felted items sometimes have to be held in shape while they dry. The pepper needed clamps, for example. I placed the wet vegetables on heat registers and waited for them to dry. They look better if you give them a shave with a razor or sweater pill remover before serving. Hey, we all need a little grooming now and then.

Zucchini

Eggplant

Knitting
Never Felt Better

Amigurami Knits

Two excellent books were the main sources for the patterns. The eggplant, squashes,  pepper and carrots were from the book "Knitting Never Felt Better" by Nicky Epstein. She is a knitting genius and has many inspiring books. The miniature pumpkin was knitted using the tomato instructions from Hansi Singh's lovely and ambitious volume "Amigurami Knits: Patterns for 20 Cute Mini Knits". No, I will not be attempting her praying mantis pattern anytime soon. 

Extreme Knits

This section of my blog is dedicated to sharing examples of extreme knitting that make me wonder about the designer's sanity. Don't these people have anything else to do? Like eat and sleep?

Yes folks, it's a knitted CHAIR! Someone not only conceived of the idea, but then whipped out the jumbo needles and cranked this out. Using off-white yarn, no less.  Please be seated.