Knitted Panda Bear Hand Puppet

Well this might not be the most handsome Panda Bear on the block but he's still pretty darn cute. Kind of got a gnarly goofy thing going on. Hopefully my son will be charmed by him rather than freaked out. Fingers crossed!

I used a pattern from Susan Anderson's book "Itty Bitty Toys" , a machine washable merino yarn, and then lined it with a bright turquoise cotton. 

I'm already thinking he needs a little friend. Maybe a cat, a rabbit, or a pig? So many cute possibilities! 

Knitted Teddy Bear

Here it is! My son's first teddy bear! Isn't it the cutest thing ever?! I've always wanted to make knitted baby toys and am not really quite sure why it's taken me so long. I found a great book last year by Susan Anderson called "Itty Bitty Toys" that really sparked an interest in me. She has the cutest patterns for simple hand puppets that I'd really love to make. Also one of my sisters-in-law sent me a great book on knitted toys that is sure to keep me busy for quite a while.

I used a Debbie Bliss pattern for this bear (found on Ravelry but can also be found in her book "Simply Baby") that I ended up really enjoying. The first part of the pattern was written quite strangely and I had to rip it out at least 4 times before I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. But other than that it knit up quite quickly and easily. There were many reviews on Ravelry stating that seaming it together was annoying or difficult but I really thought it was fine. I didn't want to overstuff it, but there are a few places (like it's head and snout) that could be fuller. 

I can just imagine this little bear being dragged along on all my son's adventures.