But I'm Not Sleepy
But I'm Not Sleepy is my best seller, everyone it seems has a Lucy, who just won't settle down and go to sleep. But how did I go from writing a bedtime story to knitting sheep...?
Well I started by displaying sheep pictures, which drew the attention of people at book signings and fairs, from there the sheep just seemed to multiply, much like the ones in the story. I designed my own knitting pattern and soon had a little flock of sheep wherever I went with my books. The sheep began to take on a life of their own, and took up more and more of my time as I tried to keep up with demand, and so here we have the pattern for the creative among you to knit your own sheep, or even a flock...
Knitted Sheep pattern
You will need:
1 ball Sirdar Snuggly Snowflake chunky
Small amount of black double knitting yarn
Small amount of toy stuffing
Oddment of white wool for features
A pair of 6mm knitting needles
A pair of 4mm knitting needles
Darning needle
Abbreviations:
K - knit
P- purl
g-st - garter stitch = knit on every row
st st - stocking stitch = knit on right side, purl on wrong side
DK – double knitting yarn
Body
Using cream coloured Sirdar Snuggly Snowflake chunky and 6mm needles,
Cast on 20 stitches
Garter stitch 12 rows
Then cut yarn, leaving a long end, thread this through stitches using a darning needle, pull tight and fasten off.
Head
Using black DK and 4mm needles,
Cast on 14 stitches
Stocking stitch 8 rows
Then cut yarn, leaving a long end, thread through stitches using a darning needle, pull tight and fasten off.
Legs: make 4
Using black DK and 4mm needles
Cast on 6 stitches
Stocking stitch 6 rows
Then cut yarn leaving a long end, thread through the stitches using a darning needle, pull tight and fasten off.
Ears: make 2
Using black DK and 4mm needles
Cast on 6 stitches, then cast off
Tail:
Using Sirdar Snuggly Snowflake chunky and 6mm needles
Cast on 5 stitches, then cast off.
To make up:
Body: over sew row ends, turn to right side and fill with toy stuffing. Stitch up cast on edge, by gathering up the cast on edge, pull tight and fasten of.
Head: over sew row ends, turn right side out and fill with toy stuffing. Stitch up cast on edge, by gathering up cast on edge, pull tight and fasten off.
Legs: over sew row ends, this is best done right side out, as they’re very fiddly to turn out. Stuff with toy stuffing.
Stitch head to body, stitch legs in place. Stitch on tail. Stitch ears onto head and embroider features onto face with white yarn, and black DK.
©Anne M Stephenson 2014
Happy Birthday Belle and also to your book...
Happy 21st Birthday Belle ex racehorse
The art of being busy and productive…
Rewrites are done, now for the illustrations
...and all this talk about sleep and being tired is definitely making me sleepy. zzz
Dear Abyss
Rewrites
How many rewrites does it take to make a book? I’ll let you know when it’s finished… maybe.
...would it be so bad to let some of the plates crash to the floor?
Let’s do this, let’s pull up a new blank page and fill it with words