10 May 2010

Big Brother Bear

AKA the bear that Nana tried to knit using another one as a template. I have never knit anything without a pattern. I am definitely a pattern person.  I need recipes for cooking.  I don’t throw in a pinch of this or a drib of that!  I add exactly what the recipes requires in exactly the amounts it tells me to add. And so it is with knitting. I get a pattern, buy the yarn and make sure I have the proper needles. I follow the pattern to a T.  I do not deviate from said pattern.  I know there are lots of people out there that can change things up, but I am not one of them.

Now when my 6 year old grandson asked me if I could knit him a teddy bear exactly like the one they gave him whilst he was in the hospital, I assured him that of course I could. It never occurred to me that with the wonderful and seemingly endless resources of Ravelry and with the whole internet world thrown in, that I would not be able to find THAT EXACT PATTERN!

But I couldn’t.  Many teddy bear patterns, some free some for a charge,but not this exact one. And none of the others would do.  Thus it was with great fear and apprehension that I set out to make up the pattern with the notes I had taken re number of stitches and rows and the pictures on my digital camera. Of course if I knew what yarn they used and what sized needles, it would have been a huge help.  But no, so i winged it. I used Paton’s Classic Wool and size 4.5 mm dpns. The only change he wanted was that this bear be bigger than the one he had.  It was to be a big brother for his bear. So this is what I ended up with:


Original one                                           My Attempt

 TeddyforPeteDSC02968BigBrotherBearDSC03004_edited-1

Mine is actually bigger lengthwise.  And apparently I should have decreased a bit before the arms, but otherwise I don’t hate it. I would definitely narrow the body a bit as mine looks like a weight lifter compared to the original!  I will send it off in the mail tomorrow and see how he is received in Ottawa!  It only took me a day to knit him up so I can always do another one and make a few adjustments if he doesn’t quite fit the bill!  I am sure that if he doesn’t meet with Pete’s approval, someone in the house will like him!  He really is kind of cute! :))

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm impressed! A very creative grandmother.

Frieda said...

I think he's adorable and a pretty good looking big brother to the original ! You had me chuckling with the weight lifter comment , but he is a BIG brother , after all . Bet the garndson will love him and be impressed with his nana .

A Crafty Mom said...

You are WAY too good and way too much of a perfectionist, dear mother. I think he looks adorable. Do you want me to show Pete the photo? Or wait until you mail it? He asks every day when Big Brother Blue will be coming in the mail ;)

You are a great grandmother, and you did a fabulous job!!!!

p.s. you know you may get sucked into knitting two more for siblings, right???

lexa said...

I think he turned out great! And I agree with Shan - you'll probably get a chance to tinker with the pattern at least two more times, lol.

Landerson said...

Make that 4 more please:) He looks great Mom! Well done....as always.

 

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