Introducing Nini's

They are sooooooo squishy. They are made with a super soft baby yarn that is machine washable and dryable. They have minimal stuffing because the yarn itself creates this really squishy fabric. They have safety eyes that wont budge. I know this to be true because I once put one on crooked from the other and I'm not entirely sure the jaws of life could pry it off. I never did get it off, in case you are wondering haha. So below is some more eye candy. The tiny ones we are calling Teeny Ninis.



The two on the far left are kitties instead of bunnies. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about them yet. The pink on is laid back but it has a pink tutu on.



Teeny Ninis fit in the palm of your hand, heck they fit in the palm of my 5-yr-old's hand.



A little size comparison.

I feel like these pictures don't even do them justice, you have to really touch them and squish them in your hand to really fall in love with them. This group doesn't have noses, but the next group will have safety noses that I ordered. These will be in the etsy shop soon, and I'll be taking a small caravan of them with my to the show in Liberty!

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Bunnies on the Brain

I know it's well past Easter... nearly summer in fact! And all I can talk about is bunnies! I don't know what it is, I guess it's one of those little creative traps where you just have to work through it to get past it. On the other hand I guess that there are worse things right?

So I've had three purchases of my Plushy Blankee from my shop. A policy I decided to establish was that for each purchase from my shop that a hat would be knit and donated to our local hospital. However for this I want to put just a little hold on this. Let me elaborate...

This yarn is one of the plushiest yarns I've worked with the knitted piece is just ridiculously squishy and soft, not to mention its machine washable and dryable! I've been thinking about a really simple little stuffed bunny pattern that I want to do with this yarn. So in honor of the plushy blankee purchases I want to finish the bunny and make 3 of those to donate to the hospital instead. Cant you just see an adorable baby cuddled up with it? Ahh I'm excited about this pattern. If I like it enough I may add it to the blanket pattern. (P.S. If I do, those of you who have purchased it already will get a copy of that too.)

So all that to say I promise I did not forget about the donations I just wanted to make it a little bit special.

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Breakfast with Hazel

The past week right at breakfast time we have been seeing a cute twitchy nose rabbit come out and enjoy the clover patch in the backyard. We named him Hazel. Which is a reference to the book/movie Watership Down, a favorite of my childhood and now also one of my daughters.

He is awfully brave, only about 10 or 15 feet from the house and nearly right next to the bird feeder. But this morning he was joined by another bunny that looked just the same but a little smaller. This made me laugh - we have a real live Hazel and Fiver! Cute right?

This brings me round to talk about this hat pattern I'm working on and while it sounds silly, I can't think of any other way to describe it than bunnies in a basket. What? Yeah I know. But trust me when I tell you, its cute! Although I am not sure how I will work the decreases since there is a braided cable section. Maybe just do a picot bind off and gather it up? Maybe a spiral decrease... I guess I'll just have to cross the bridge when I come to it.

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Free Pattern Friday! :: Play Collar ::

Weew its been a hectic week. But now finals are finally over! I'm not sure when I'll be able to see my grades but, I should be able to see them soon. I do already know that my final grade in my morning math was a 97! But enough about that...

This week, I thought I'd follow the theme and make a play collar to go along with the Play Leash from last week. My daughter is in love. She puts her favorite stuffed puppy dog on that leash and pulls him along all over the house and yard (I know right... good thing he's washable!).

So here is what you need:

• A couple yards of worsted weight yarn
• A small key ring
• 3 Size 8 DPNS

Instructions:
CO 6 provisionally knit 2 or 3 rows and put your cast on stitches on one of your DPN.
Work in garter stitch (knit all rows) until you have about half the desired length, maybe around 3.5 inches or so. Keep in mind, garter stitch has an incredible amount of stretch and you want it big enough to stretch over the head of the toy but not so much the toy will slip out of the collar while being pulled around.

At the half way point on your next row k1 then holding your key ring knit through it for the next 4 stitches then drop it and knit the last one outside of it.
Continue knitting a length equal to the first half (doesn't have to be perfect) ending with a right side row, pick up your needle holding your cast on stitches. Be sure that both yarn tails are on the right side and graft together with Kitchener stitch.

Weave in ends, add some embellishments if you like and you are done! Super easy and should be lots of fun for your little one. Happy knitting!

THANK YOU for your support! Please show continued support by using this pattern only for your non-commercial, personal use. Please do not knit and sell designs from this pattern without express written permission. Copyright © 2012 A Flight of Sparrows; all rights reserved.

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Sail Through The Changes

Things are changing and I am very eager to take on this new chapter of life but at the same time the inner me is terrified. I suppose it's natural to feel apprehensive about new and uncharted waters. The problem is because of it I get stuck in this cycle of bursts of energy and ideas. I seize the opportunity and really throw myself into it. Then, just when I think "Yeah, this is a good pace," the wheels start to slow, and just like a train going up hill that loses momentum... I slide back down to the base of the hill with my caboose planted and my front wheels spinning. I need to figure out a way to defeat this, but how?

**********

So I have another pattern I am tweaking for release right now! Twisting Cable Hat is the pattern and it offers size instruction for baby, child, and women. I really love the 3-Dimensional quality that cables have. I think it is a simple way to take a rib and really pretty it up. If you've never done cables before I would encourage you to try them! It came seem irritating or maybe a little fiddly at first but after you do a couple it gets pretty easy and you'll really be happy with how pretty they are.

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Free Pattern Friday! :: Play Leash ::

Hello and Thank Goodness It's Friday! Because that means this is my first ever (hopefully of many more to come), free pattern Friday. If you have kids or maybe like in my case just one kid, you know all too well that at some point one of those stuffed animals is going to become a real animal. Who am I kidding... we all know they will all be real for the majority of the duration of their childhood. If yours is like mine its mostly the 'doggies'. My girl loves her some doggies, and we can't just have all these doggies running loose in the yard! So I was asked to devise a plan to tame those wild doggies, a challenge to which I met with this simple - yet effective! - doggie leash.

Notes: I don't recommend using this for actual live animals or babies and very small children who might get tangled up in it. The intended purpose is just for playtime fun. That being said this is not an exact science and it by no means needs to be perfect. Add your own flair and have fun with it.

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Teasers!

Spring always brings me lots of good ideas. Reining them in is a whole other dragon to slay. But that's ok I still have plenty of creative on the way!

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Plushy Blankee! My first pattern for sale!

I am so excited I just got my first pattern uploaded and set to go tonight! It is really the most lush and snuggly blanket I've seen.

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To Pin or Not to Pin?

So I have heard some controversy over Pinterest and pinning of copyrighted material. So I decided to look into their Terms of Service for a clearer look at their stance. The first bit I read really blew me away...

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Rosette Bobbies!?

Sneak peak! You'll see these and a few more in a couple weeks. I am pretty excited about them I think they are adorable. Along with these I'll be introducing a few more things.

The last few days have been a hurricane size brainstorm. Out of it I have a hand full of ideas and 2 patterns already on the way (another one rolling around in my head), as well as a fun and easy pattern/tutorial. I hope you look forward to those as much as I do.

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Happy Easter hunting! (No fools about it)

Get your virtual baskets ready! starting this Sunday, April 1st and running through Easter Sunday; my etsy shop will be hosting an Easter egg hunt! Of course it's not your usual mad dash in the tall grass but, I bet it will be just as exciting. And no this isn't really just an big April fools... in case you were wondering.

How it works:
- Each day 1 item in my shop will have an Easter egg somewhere among its photos.
- The picture with the egg will also have a coupon code for you.
- This code is only active for 24 hours and can only be used on that specific item.
- Each day the egg will move and once found/purchased the egg for that day will be gone! So don't forget to check your favorite items!

The coupon code will give you a whopping 30% off AND free shipping! Could it be much better? I'm excited about this and hope to see you all participating. Happy Easter and Happy Hunting!

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Show Me Spring!

It's been a long time coming but it's finally here. I gathered all my courage and started posting my rings and earrings to Etsy again! I am pretty proud of these, I really love them and intend to snag some for my own jewelry box! So here are a couple I already posted...



The rest will be trickling into the shop slowly and you can get a sneak peak at those on my flickr page.

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Not so glass slipper

I am on a mission to find the perfect slipper! I have been scouring Ravelry and even done some google searches. There are plenty that look nice in their picture but the pattern doesn't seem to stand up to it. Is it just me or does it feel similar to the smoke and mirrors of the legendary "myspace pic" -i.e. taking a picture in the most extreme downward angle to provide the most slimming possible- ? Well aside from that I've found two contenders. I may end up combining them somehow. There are elements of each that I both like and dislike. So it would go something like ... 'make the sole like this one, make the sides like that one, make the heel like this one, make the cuff like that one..." Confusing right? I thought so too. Time for eye candy? Yes.

This first one I like A LOT the pattern is Moon Socks by DROPS design - They always come up with some of the cutest stuff right?

The second here is Desert Boots by Elise Brand. I like the look of both and I've knit up one of both and wear them around the house together (haha what makes it funnier is one is in rusty orange and the other in a deep eggplant purple). Why you ask? To compare how they feel as I wear them around, see how I like them. I think once I decide how I like them best I will compile the pattern for Ravelry... Just in case there are any other's out there with mismatched slippers.

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