"collect-star" aka "star-collect"

i'm so happy to discover that it's friday already! who would have thought the week would fly by so quickly! this marks week one for the hubs to be gone to sea. he'll come home on the weekends, so that helps break it up. we have 3 more to go.  but we've been keeping ourselves very busy. the knitting front has been good! very good.... 
in fact, i'd like you to meet "collect-star" ...or "star-collect" depending on what my 4 year old feels like calling him...

owen was a little jealous that mommy was getting such beautiful yarn and was making a special project for herself. not to mention he just had to say good bye to the cutest little sheep ever.... (you'll have to scroll down a couple of pics to see it)
he very politely and very firmly requested a project for him. heehee.. what a cute little guy. so of course, i obliged.

i love that he's already getting fuzzy with cuddles, play, and snuggles...i honestly have no idea where he comes up with the names.. but "star" being in the name seems to be special to him. a long time ago, i crocheted him a cute little toy... whom he promptly named "star".

i think he might have been 2? strange...
nevertheless... i love him! he was a really fun project!
the deets?

the pattern is "sheldon" by ruth homrighaus.
you may have seen it around, as it's been around since 2006... and i think i've had this in my que since then. i even had the pattern printed out a few years back....
i used 3.5mm needles, and just scrap yarn from my stash. the green and blue i think are vanna's choice, and the orange i think is patons... but i can't remember if it's decor or classic wool... don't quote me on it though ;)

honestly, i had delayed in knitting this up, because i thought it was going to be a lot more difficult than it was.
for a toy, i think this pattern was very straight-forward. no guess work. and i learned a few new techniques! (always a bonus). i expected him to be much smaller (i don't know why) but i think he's the perfect size. and certainly helped to eat up some stash yarn.
i most certainly want to make more.
i used buttons instead of safety eyes, as they are near impossible to find here. if i were to knit this for a newborn though, i'd probably just embroider the eyes.

and the best part? i just discovered that sheldon likes to play dress-up, and there are patterns available to make dress-up shells of a lion, sheep, bumblebee or a bat!  how awesome is that! so far i'm just sticking with the turtle shell though, because i looove it. hee hee

as for the colour choices? that would be all owen. he really does have an eye for colour i think! and he felt like such a helper. picking the colours (and having every say on that ) as well as stuffing the legs.
already "collect-star" is loved to bits. there was much consideration made when i asked to borrow him for photographs. hahah.
the best toys are the ones that are always played with. for sure.

it looks to be a very wet day today. and this mama is super excited to have her hubby home... as well as going out to knit night! the girls and i decided to bring it to a pub this week. i'm sure it will be a blast! and so that means a boys night tomorrow night. owen and i will be creating a sign saying "boys night! no girls allowed" covered with dump trucks and spiderman stickers. can you tell he's super excited to have his daddy home? bbq chips and the wii are also requested for that night.... and i'm totally fine with that, so long as i get to be with my girls, and knit!  we're also going to be meeting up the following day for the modern-sewing meet-up! and i have still yet to find a pattern to sew. help!
there will be much knitting, and cuddling, and crafting this weekend for me that's for sure!


how about you? what do you have planned for this weekend? here's wishing you a weekend full of laughter, friends, crafting, and cozy cups of tea. i'd love to hear what you're up to! come chat! xo