The Toy Curse has Ended

Anyone who knows me knows that I don't really knit toys. My first foray into knitted toys resulted in a Henry Rollins that was...well...misshapen at best with hair that looked more like a beanie than hair. Since then I have stayed away from knitting toys. So many parts, so much stuffing, and the outcome less than predictable (or so I thought). So when my cousing got pregnant, and knitty had two of the cutest knitted toys I had seen in one issue, I decided to attempt the toy making again. The result, while not perfect, and has a lack of a tail for some reason, is Norberta the Dragon. She is knit in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Astrakhan instead of the cotton called for. I love the cashmerino and the Astrakhan makes lovely kids gifts. Here she is posing with the gift of sock yarn included in her baby shower gift. (A fellow knitter, she needed some nice yarn for herself). Not too bad eh? (Although using that yarn for sewing was nothing short of a pain in my arse).

While I am at it, here are the other little knitted goodies for the soon-to-be Brigid. The socks are from Interweave and are the Better- Than- Booties Socks knit with Lorna's Laces.

The hat and booties are made with Lorna's Laces Angel yarn (100% angora). The booties pattern is the one from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, and the hat pattern I found online for free from Jimmy Bean's wool (I think...). The final pic is of it all together with the classic Goodnight Moon added in per my daughter's request.
So after the ok turn out of Norberta, I ventured into knitting another toy, this time for my daughter. She picked the Sheldon the Turtle pattern from the same issue of knitty and she picked the yarn. I came home with some Malabrigo for a sweater and she claimed it as her favorite yarn and snuggled up with it for quite a while (hey..the girl has good taste!). I had a single skein of Sapphire green in my stash, so off the the LYS we headed to pick out a corresponding color for Sheldon. (I had to change the needles sizes up to size 6's DPN's and 7's straight instead of the called for 3's and 4's.) She picked the more muted green as opposed to the minty green ...and, well... here's Sheldon!
Ok, the curse is over. This is just about the cutest knitted toy I have seen (apart from the ones Becki makes with the little outfits...too cute to compare!) And the daisy button eyes? How do you say no to that?! The pattern was relatively easy with very little seeming, which is probably why I finished it so quickly. The best part? I have enough yarn left to make one in contrasting colors for my son! (That's not to say that I will soon be pumping out the toys in volume, but hey at least I know I can make em...and quickly...when need be!).