Spring is in the Air...

Easter Eggs by Little Cotton Rabbits
knitted in Rowan Wool Cotton, #954, #941, #951, and Rowan Handknit Cotton, #205
using US size 2 (2.75mm) circulars, knitted back and forth
Pattern Modification:  for the mini-eggs, I cut Julie's original pattern in half both length and width, and worked 8 pattern rows instead of 12.
Ravelers see them here.

It's getting to be that time of year... my herbs from last year are starting to poke their heads out from their pots, I'm noticing tulips appearing around town, and the park was a virtual madhouse yesterday with kids covering every possible surface.  Spring!  And that also means Easter is just around the corner. 

When I saw Julie's adorable Easter eggs on Flickr way back in January I queued them then.  Both her photography and design were way too cute for me to resist wanting to knit them.  And now that we are beginning preparations for the holiday, I knew it was definitely time!

Tonight at our LYS I'm teaching a class on stranded-colorwork and Shelly, the shop owner, wanted something that could be finished in the two-hour time alloted.  Hmmm.  Colorwork in under two hours.  What colorwork pattern can be finished, beginning to end, in two hours?  Aha!  And I was off to my Ravelry queue to find the Little Cotton Rabbit's eggs from two months ago.

 

The kids and I have been crafting the last couple of days.  Actually, they've been crafting.  I just buy the kits.  We've had little foam chicks and eggs all over the table, and now I've just got to stick them to craft paper cards, assign each a name, and they are ready to be delivered at school tomorrow.  Spring break is coming up next week and we are heading to the river for a few days of relaxation and fly fishing.  But before heading out, they wanted to make Easter cards for all their buddies. 

So between the chicks, eggs, yarn, filling, and goodness knows what else, our kitchen table has been barely visible for a while now!  But I've really enjoyed knitting Julie's pattern, and still have several more eggs to knit.  The egg is knit flat and then seamed (yep, there's that word again) using a mattress stitch.  Thankfully with all the toys I've been knitting lately I'm really getting to practice my finishing.

And I am really getting a kick out of all the emails and links you guys have been sending me regarding toys and amigurumi.  I really need to knit something else for a bit, huh?  Actually, you're just giving me more patterns to add to my ever-expanding queue!  I'm so addicted to them!  But with Easter just around the corner I've still got a few petit fours and eggs to finish.  Not to mention a Easter Bunny.  Okay, after that, I really am going to turn my attention to wearables again.  Oh, I nearly forgot!  I did cast on the Brea Bag by Berocco the other night.  And have completed exactly four rows.  That should count for something, right?
 
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Denise  DATE: 03/13/2008 03:25:49 PM Very sweet! Hope the class goes well tonight. I have a shrug to finish for easter.... keep on knit-ing... keep on knit-ing (as Dorey would say!) :-)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Shannon DATE: 03/13/2008 09:02:46 PM You are KILLING me with all the cuteness lately! I have had these bookmarked for a while, but I never got around to knitting them. I love your versions.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jennifer  DATE: 03/13/2008 11:11:20 PM Thanks guys... the class was great. I think the thing I love most about knitters is the eclecticism. I love that you can have a 9 year old girl sitting next to a 80 year old woman, both knitting and talking about yarn overs. That's good stuff. Ms. Turkey-- girl go knit you some! They are so stinkin' cute! You could have several finished before Easter! :-)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Molly  DATE: 03/16/2008 02:33:02 PM What a beautiful photo. I have been a fan of your work for a while and so I can't help but TAG you in the hopes that you might share some fun facts about yourself.(I was recently tagged, so I am just going along with the "rules"). Here are the rules: 1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog. 2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. 3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. 4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Alice DATE: 03/16/2008 08:53:26 PM Adorable! Easter comes so early this year I've already resigned that I probably won't get anything crafty done for it... I'll have to just admire your goodies! The mini-eggs are genius!
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: julie DATE: 03/20/2008 05:18:19 AM I love the colours you've used - they are beautiful. The little ones are really cute. They make a wonderful set. Here's wishing you a fun Easter - and lots of chocolate!