The Bear-Along Blog

a finished bear!

2005-02-17T10:26:00.000-08:00

i finished my bear! of course, being the LOON that i am, i left my camera at the boyfriend's house, so no pictures for now. but here's the details:

pattern: last minute gifts (book)
yarn: unbrand-name ebay wool
needles 4.5 dpn's
modifications - a. done on dpn's, b. attached the arms with raglan shoulders instead of sewing them onto the body after stuffing
time: less than a week! (probably a total of about 9 hours actual work time)

this is a belated valentines gift for the boy, and i customized the bear with a heart embroidered on its chest, in the same style as the heart tattoo'd on my boy's chest. i'm QUITE happy with the end result!

pics as soon as i can! i'm casting on another one tonight :)

Another Bear, and a Request

2005-01-28T13:00:00.000-08:00

Katie O. finished her bear! And he's dressed appropriately for the weekend weather in the Carolinas, which is supposed to be cold and icy. This is Katie J. saying that he is one cute bear, and Katie O.'s baby is one lucky little guy to have this bear waiting for him.

Now, we have a special request to you bloggers who have yet to complete your bear. As we had noted when we began this knitalong, we were planning to be finished by the end of January. This is mainly because Katie O. and Katie J. are expecting babies and about to pop, or getting pretty close to that point, anyway. Would anyone participating like to move the blog to another host, and start maintaining the updates? We're not sure how to move the blog, but Katie J. currently has it on her Typepad account and would be glad to provide the files to whomever wants to take over. Please consider this, and email Katie J. at katiejohnsonATbellsouthDOTnet if you're able and willing.

We've had a lot of fun doing this knitalong, and hope y'all have, as well.

A finished bear, and some progress shots too!

2005-01-27T13:21:00.000-08:00

Look, Siow Chin has finished her crocheted, rice-fed bear! He's a real cutie.

And Alisha has started her Bobbi Bear. Here's a link to her first progress photo, and the most recent. Looking good, Alisha!

More updates

2005-01-21T13:59:00.000-08:00

Katie O. has finished most of her bear--take a look at the cutie here! She has also promised FO photos very soon. Great job!

Lizz is working on not one, but two Bobbi Bears. See her January 20 entry.

Everyone is doing just great!

Another finished bear!

2005-01-14T13:26:00.000-08:00

Check out Emy's Brownie! Great job, Emy! She's cute as a button.

A new knitalonger

2005-01-11T12:42:00.000-08:00

Please welcome Siow Chin to the Bear-Along! She is crocheting a cute little bear from the book Kussy's simple sweaters & knit goods. She already has the head complete...visit her blog for her progress!

Katie O. is busy growing her baby and working and knitting. That's a tall order! She notes that she lost track on her bear, so she has frogged him and started over. How about three cheers for Katie O., and all of the knitalongers who might need some friendly words of encouragment?

Finished Bear (and Bunny)

2005-01-07T14:01:00.000-08:00

Look at Brynne's newest family additions! A precious Noro bear and bunny to keep each other company. Nice job, Brynne (and your embroidery looks great)!

A Finished Bear

2004-12-29T16:56:00.000-08:00

Katie J. has finished her Stars and Stripes Bear from Teddy Bears by Debbie Bliss. He finished out at about 16 inches tall. She used Rowan Wool/Cotton for the bear's body and for the flag pattern on the sweater, and Rowan DK Tweed for the main part of the sweater. Here he is:

She probably will still re-do the seams on his feet. And she breathes a sigh of relief, because she had to give this guy to her mom for Christmas with no head and half of a sweater! Thankfully, her mom thought he was cute anyway. But now he can be sent on, fully complete. (Katie notes that due to the construction of this bear-and most in the Debbie Bliss book-he isn't a good candidate for a toddler to play with. She plans to knit a Bobbi Bear for her son in the near future.)

A Headless Bear (Knitalonger Update)

2004-12-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

Katie J. worked on her Debbie Bliss bear over the holiday weekend and here is what she has so far:

She's considering re-seaming the feet, because she doesn't like the way they turned out. There's some stuffing trying to escape. Now all he needs is a head!

Any other progress updates that we need to share? We hope everyone is doing well and wish all of the knitalongers a happy 2005!

More colorful than the average bear!

2004-12-20T22:02:00.000-08:00

Wow! Brynne has finished her Noro Kureyon bear (almost)! Take a look at the progress shots she took. This is a really cute bear. The colors alone are guaranteed to make someone happy.

Here are all of the pieces, ready for seaming.

Here is the bear, now in only 8 pieces.

And finally, here is the seamed-up bear, lacking only his face!

Great job, Brynne!

In other news, Katie J. has picked her Debbie Bliss Stars and Stripes bear back up and is working on the arms. She has a 9-10 hour road trip planned for later on in the week, so she will have plenty of time to finish her bear if all goes as planned. (BTW, Katie J. has given up on blogging for a while, so if you happen to notice her blog "Knits and Grits" is gone, that's why. Just no time at the moment, and she forsees even less time of her own to do such things in the future. The idea (and quickly-approaching reality) of two babies under the age of 2 is starting to freak her out.)

Blogless Bears

2004-12-07T13:15:00.000-08:00

Marjorie Brigham sent us the most adorable bear photos. Marjorie doesn't have a blog, but she would probably love to hear your compliments. The pattern is "Beary Bears" from The Knitting Needle.

Aren't they cute? Great job, Marjorie!

A finished Bobbi!

2004-11-29T12:57:00.000-08:00

Look, look--Sarah finished her Bobbi Bear!

Another Bear Update

2004-11-17T12:34:00.000-08:00

Lizz has posted a progress photo of her boucle Bobbi Bear here (and she now has a feed on her site, so you can add her blog to your bloglines account). Love the boucle yarn for this bear! It looks so cuddly.

A cute bear bum

2004-11-16T12:08:00.000-08:00

Take a look at Emy's bear bottom! Does anyone else have any updates for us?

New Knitalonger

2004-11-10T14:35:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Alisha, a new knitter joining us for the Bear-Along! Also, some updates on bear progress:

Lizz just started her Bobbi Bear, using recycled Bernat Soft Boucle. And Jenni, also knitting Bobbi Bear, started her using some alpaca yarn that she found at A.C. Moore.

Finally, if you are having gauge questions, please check the comments to the October 29 post. Lizz and Leisel both offer advice.

Some bears in progress

2004-11-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

There have been some bear sightings recently...Emy has a head, body and leg completed on her bear, and Katie J. has a bear body with legs. How is everyone else coming along?

Also, please take a look at Becca's gauge conversion question in the comments of our October 29 post. Does anyone have any tips for Becca?

And we have a bear!

2004-10-31T20:02:00.000-08:00

Take a look at Erin's fluffy creation. How cute is this guy?

New free bear pattern

2004-10-29T23:17:00.000-07:00

Greetings, bear-alongers! So far we haven't seen any updates, as everyone is still ordering patterns and yarn for their bears. Let us know when you have something to share; even just a leg or a head will inspire the rest of us! Katie J. has been visiting everyone's blogs via her Bloglines account and recommends this service to anyone who hasn't tried it yet. It puts links to all of your favorite blogs in one convenient place, and even notifies you when a blog has been updated!

Now for the free pattern: Berroco sends out an e-newsletter called "Knit Bits". You can sign up for it at their website. Today's issue featured a cute little bear and the free pattern. Check it out!

Additionally, Katie J. did a little looking around to see if the Blue Sky Alpacas Bobbi Bear pattern could be ordered online for less than $8. It seems that most of the merchants offering it charge $4 for the pattern and $4 for the shipping. Well, she would rather save the extra $4 and use it for yarn! So she finally found Knit Happens, who will send the pattern to you for $4.75, which includes shipping. Hooray for someone who actually ships at cost.

Happy bear knitting, everyone!

Bobbi Bear Tip

2004-10-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

Patti wrote us today to mention that she has heard of knitters using Lion Brand Thick and Quick to replace the primo-expensive alpaca yarn called for on the Bobbi Bear pattern. This is a great tip--thanks, Patti!

In fact, one could probably use any yarn desired (as mentioned by Brynne earlier) for any bear pattern and just end up with a smaller finished product. Since bears are bears, and not garments which need to fit a certain size, the suggested gauge is really just important if you want your finished bear to be exactly the same size as the pattern indicates. Katie J. had to substitute yarns for her bear, and her gauge is actually going to result in a slightly larger bear than her pattern indicates (just be sure to remind her of this when she starts knitting the bear's sweater).

We have some new knit-alongers and one crochet-alonger--welcome to all of the knitters and welcome to Leisel, who is crocheting a thread bear.

Look Who's Knitting Bears!

2004-10-20T14:38:00.000-07:00

Welcome to everyone who has joined the bear-along so far. Your names have been listed in the sidebar to the left. We hope everyone will enjoy finding their perfect pattern and yarns to make the perfect bear.

Brynne wrote with some more pattern sources and a tip for the Bobbi Bear pattern:

"There are also bear patterns in:
Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Simple Knits for Cherished Babies
Debbie Bliss Baby Knits Book
Interweave Knits Winter 1999/2000
And Bobbi Bear can be knit up with other, thinner yarns (for much less money, too) just by converting the few measurements in the pattern by using the row gauge."

Katie J.'s yarn arrived today for her bear, so she's starting right away (in fact, as soon as she makes this post, because her son is napping). Please let us know when you start knitting so we can all follow each other's progress.

For anyone just visiting for the first time, it's not too late to join. Just leave us a comment on this blog.

A Pattern Idea (or two)

2004-10-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

For those who are still looking for patterns, here is a really cute and unique pattern from Debbie Bliss. Found in her Noro Collection 1 book is a bear made with 9 skeins of Noro Kureyon. How cute is this bear (scroll down the page to see photo and yarn requirements)?

Also, let's thank Patti for pointing out another cute pattern, Bobbi Bear by Blue Sky Alpacas. This one calls for their own bulky yarn and is almost two feet tall! The pattern and yarns are available through any of the retailers listed on Blue Sky Alpacas's website.

Here's a photo of two Bobbi Bears, from Blue Sky's website:

And a kit for Bobbi can be ordered from Jimmy Beans Wool.

Fiber Trends also has a few felted bear patterns. There are the baby bears (scroll down the page to view) and the marigold bears. Very adorable!

Welcome!

2004-10-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Katie J. and Katie O.'s teddy bear knitalong! As we're both pregnant and looking for cute baby things to make, we thought we'd try bears. We'd love for other knitters to join us, because after all, who doesn't love a teddy bear?

Here are some ideas for bear patterns. Katie O. is using a pattern from The Knitted Teddy Bear by Sandra Polley. Katie J. is knitting the Stars and Stripes bear from Teddy Bears by Debbie Bliss. Both books have great-looking bears, so if you have one of these in your pattern library, you're already set.

If you want to try looking for a free pattern online, here are a few we've found:

"Little Teddy" (no photo)

Mr. Bean style bear

Teddy Bear by Rita Taylor (no photo)

And here are two free patterns for a bear sweater:

About.com's pattern

Brown Sheep's pattern

The Rules

Basically, there are no rules. This is supposed to be fun, and we're going into the holidays soon, so we'd like to keep it as loose as possible. If you'd like to participate, please let us know by commenting to any entry on this blog. Send us your name, your blog URL, and the pattern you plan to use. We'll list your blog here under the "Participants" sidebar. Copy the knitalong button (to your left) to your hard drive, upload it to your own server, then post it on your blog so that other knitters can see that you're doing this knitalong. Keep your blog updated as to your progress, and try to finish by the end of January 2005. That's it. We'll post updates to this blog as we can, regarding the group's progress as a whole.

That's about it! So, let's make some new bear friends!