Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

A couple of weekends ago I taught a fairy class at a mini-retreat through Knit Circus and Spud & Chloë Fine was flying around the room. It was so fun to see. Today I have some last photos of our Mini-Fairy Along Fairy. She is worked up in Fine in Popcorn, Glow Worm, Cricket and Wild Berries.

On a slight side note, in our world of variegated and tonal yarns (which I love, too), it is so refreshing to see the beautiful saturated solid tones of Spud & Chloë Fine. I simply love this yarn. The other thing I have heard here and there is a concern about the silk in the yarn especially when it is knit into socks. The silk only adds strength to the superwash wool, plus a gorgeous sheen. It makes the yarn even more durable and beautiful. The fiber really blooms after washing. My Fine socks have worn so well through wearing and washing. If you haven’t tried Fine yet, you should give it a go!

I carefully stitched the wings on my fairy from Knit Simple Holiday 2011 (click here to find out more about the pattern). In the pattern I stitched the wings on the back in a “V” form but for this fairy I placed them in an upside-down V for a different tilt. I like it both ways. It is fun to play around with the placement of things to get different looks. I feel like these wings have a look of motion to them.

In the pattern there are two versions of wings. These are the simplest version.

The stitching on of the wings only takes a couple of minutes at most. For the ends I just pull them to the inside of the toy and trim so the end pops right back inside. Easy peasy.

Now for her hat…. you cast on twice as many stitches as needed and rapidly decrease to get a ruffled edge. This gives her hat a flowery look.

It is a tiny one.

Here she is waving goodbye! Next I’ll put the face on. There are just under 100 fairies posted on Ravelry now (very exciting!) and the mini-fairy along thread has lots of fairy knitters joining in. Click here for the Ravelry group thread. There is plenty of time to grab some Spud & Chloë Fine and knit a few fairies for the holidays. I want to hang a couple of fairies on my tree this year.

I found a really cool pattern and kit using Spud & Chloë Sweater that I am sharing in the next post. I think you will love it! I’ll be back soon with that.

Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

My sweet fairy is coming along. I have stitched up the adorable tulip skirt in the Wildberries colorway of Fine. This shade of purple is perhaps my favorite purple ever. I am usually not much of a purple person but this one really gets me. The skirt starts out on the smaller size dpns and then moves onto the larger size. For me that is US size 2 for the larger needles.

You do a rapid increase to give the flower shaped skirt a ruffled look. Then three little points are created along the bottom. There are a few ends to weave in but this only takes a quick minute. I promise.

I love how the fairy patiently sits and awaits her new skirt.

Last, I used a whipstitch with a yarn needle to attach the skirt to the purl round on the fairy’s body. I stitched it so you could see the Cricket green running along the waistband. I like this look because it is a little decorative and looks almost like a tiny belt detail.

She’s looking good in the neighborhood!

Click here for more information about the Flora & Fairy pattern in Knit Simple Holiday 2011!

Click here for the Ravelry Mini-Fairy-Along thread!

I’ve heard from lots of fairy knitters. Thank you for joining in. If you’ve already finished a fairy awhile ago please feel free to share those, too. All fairies are welcome. I can’t wait to see what you all come up with. Now I am onto her wings and hat…

Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

I am working away on a tiny fairy or two to have for samples for the workshop I am teaching this coming Saturday here in Madison at the Knit Circus Mini-Retreat. My class is full and I am excited to get to spend some quality time with a group of tiny fairy knitters. We will be knitting a fairy from the Flora & Fairies project that was in the Holiday Knit Simple 2011 Issue recently released.

Click here to see the finished fairies and get more information on Ravelry!

Since I am working up a fairy or two this week for the class I thought I would have a Mini-Fairy-Along right here and share some progress shots along the way. I’d love it if you join in! I’ve started a thread on our Ravelry group right here if you’d like to post photos or ask questions.

The entire Flora & Fairies project uses Spud & Chloë Fine, which is our beautiful fingering weight yarn. Fine is a perfect yarn for knit toys because of the clear stitch definition, the washability and the fantastic color choices. Check it out here.

The body and head of the fairy is knit in one piece from the bottom up. It is about 2 1/2 to 3 inches so it goes very quickly.

For the I-cord arms and legs, I knit them separately but you could easily pick right up on the body and knit them right on. I don’t mind taking a couple of stitches to attach them but either way works just fine.

I leave an end that is long enough to place on a yarn needle to use to stitch the limbs on. Then I just pull the end to the inside of the body and trim.

And there we have it! I actually love this little character just like this. She is really a cute little person like this but she needs some dressing. Next up is the skirt and a flower hat. I’ll whip up some wings and I think I may add some little braids sticking out from under her hat.

I’ll be back with more soon!

Also, I want to remind you of a pattern I did for the fall holiday season a couple of years ago right here on Spud says!. It is the Tiny Turkey knit in our Sweater yarn. The Tiny Turkey is a festive little fellow just right for the season.

Click here to read about the Tiny Turkey and to download the free pattern!

Click here for the Ravelry project page for the Tiny Turkey! On the Ravelry page I have links for progress photos and tips and helpful hints for knitting your own Tiny Turkey.

When I looked back at that old blog post there is a cute photo of TC. Wow, has she grown.

Time flies when you’re having fun. Let me know if you knit a turkey or a tiny fairy! I love to hear from you.

(photo by skinnedknees – rav id)

Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

I am back from a week in Denver where I was filming two online courses for Craftsy.com. It was a whirlwind of fun and hard work. I loved every minute of it.

Now, I have another quick Polly update. Above is the finished cardigan by skinnedknees (rav-id). I love her buttons and striping colors. This is now being displayed at the yarn shop she works at, Firefly Fibers! That’s Flannel, Sandbox and Sequoia in Outer in this version. Great work!

(photo by himbine – rav id)

Here is another cardigan version of the Polly knitted by himbine (rav id). This one has short sleeves and I just love the way it turned out with the fun buttons. The colorway in Outer for himbine‘s version is Flannel.

(photo by dmc1231 – rav id)

How cute is Denise in her Polly Cardigan in the Outer colorway of Giggle?  Fantastic!!!! Thank you for modeling.

(photo by kim8930 – rav id)

Kim is making the Polly as a pullover just like in the original pattern. Looks great so far. She has been so incredibly helpful and fun in the knitalong thread on the Friends of Spud & Chloë forum, always jumping in to help and comment. Thanks to Kim! I can’t wait to see the finished version.

There are some people just jumping to start their Polly and many more finishing up. The knitalong is open so anytime anyone wants to join is fine with me.

Click here for the Polly knitalong thread on Ravelry.

Click here to see the original Polly Pullover pattern.

Don’t forget to see all of the posts about the knitalong simply click on the knitalong category on the right sidebar of Spud says!

Okay, I am off to finish up my Beluga and Firefly hat!  See you back here soon with that.