Alleykitten!

That’s right! I finally finished my first doll for sale in my etsy shop!

Inspired by Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera, Knit!Erik wears a black mask and carries a red rose. Unlike the written character, this doll is quite soft and cuddly.

I’m in the process of making an extremely long piece of i-cord out of my scrap yarn. When long enough, I plan on using it to knit scarf.

In other news: I’ve begun knitting dolls. I knit a rather cute doll for my niece for her 16th birthday. She seems to really like it. Unfortunately, I neglected to take any photos of it completed. So, you’re just going to have to wait until my next doll to get an idea of what I’m doing.

Also, I shall begin making cat toys for sale in the Etsy store. Once up, they’ll be sold at 5$ for two.

My friend recently had a baby. So, I’ve been working on a knit doll for her older daughter. I’ve never knit a doll before. But, I figured that I’d be able to find a simple pattern and go from there. Having found a pattern, I’ve been working on it non-stop for about three days. Well, I guess I over-did it. This morning I woke up with the tips of my fingers numb and a sore wrist. So, every few rows (Yes, I’m still knitting. When will I ever learn?) I’ve been resting my wrist on a heat pack. And, when my heat pack loses warmth, I just shove my hand under a dog

I seem to be having some motivation problems getting this website off the ground. So, to make up for it I threw together an easy pattern for a cat toy.

Mia playing with a Three Tailed Cat Toy

Name: Three Tailed Cat Toy
Time: < 1 hour
Challenge: Easy
Gauge: None
Needles: No. 5 (3.75mm) Double Pointed, Tapestry Needle
Yarn: Worsted Weight

Abbreviations:
K – Knit
P – Purl
KFB – Knit Front and Back
K2tog – Knit two stitches together

Pattern
Cast on 6sts, evenly distributed over three double pointed needles.

Row 1: Knit
Row 2: KFB every stitch (12 stitches)
Row 3 & 4: K every stitch
Row 5: KFB every stitch (24 stitches)
Row 6 -14: K every stitch
Row 15: K2tog entire row (12 stitches)
Row 16 & 17: Knit
+ At this point you will want to start stuffing your toy with scrap yarn for fiber fill +
Row 18: K2tog entire row (6 stitches)

Break yarn and pull through remaining stitches with tapestry needle. Pull tight and sew yarn through center of ball. Cut excess.

For tails: Knit 3-4 inches of i-cord and attach to bottom of ball. (For i-cord help click here)

Tips and Suggestions
Knit rows 7 – 13 in a different color yarn or in moss stitch. This will add texture, color and uniqueness.
Almost anything can be used as filling. If your cat likes crinkling noises, you can use crumpled up tissue paper.
Adding catnip or rosemary to the stuffing can entice your kitty to play with this toy, more.
When sewing up object, I like to tie a single knot in the yarn. This knot gets stuck in the filling and helps to keep the toy in one piece

I finally got around to organizing all my yarn and knitting supplies. It took me a few hours to go through everything. But, I’m happy with the results.

Unfortunately, I appear to be missing two knitting needles. I don’t know how that happened. I’m sure I’ll stumble upon them sooner or later. To prevent this from happening in the future, I used hemp to tie my needle pairs together. It, actually, looks rather cute. But, having not worked with hemp in years, I got a blister on the inside of my finger. Ouch!

Anyway, now that my yarn and such are organized, you should seem some knit items posted on the blog and in the store in this upcoming month.

Hello and welcome to Alleykitten.org Although the store is not yet functional, I invite you to have a look around and inspect the “about” page.

Soon, knit scarves, cat toys, and “cool downs” will be available for purchase.

Please feel free to leave a comment on this post with your questions and suggestions.

Thank you
- Alleykitten