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A Length of Yarn by Jenny M .
Knitting projects that look like food always delight their recipients .
( All photos by Jenny M .)
Friends in Connecticut created amazing patchwork quilts and cross-stitched intricate samplers , but they told me that they ’ d never learned to knit . I admired their skills but they in turn admired mine , which had been acquired in elementary school . I knitted tiny jackets for their babies and was embarrassed to hear that one little girl was christened in hers , and another came home from the hospital in his . That jacket would be used to bring future brothers and sisters home from the hospital where they were born . I was embarrassed because I ’ d have knitted more intricate jackets if I ’ d known that they were valued so highly .
Knitting baby clothes and toys for relatives and friends and their children and grandchildren has kept me busy for years . “ The things you knitters can do with a length of yarn ,” said a friend when I handed her a teddy for a new granddaughter and some “ crazy cupcakes ” for her big sister . Knitting toys and play food is fun and doesn ’ t take long , though a certain sausage dog pattern once had 20 separate pieces to knit and sew together and won ’ t be used again in a hurry . Knitting sushi and putting it in a sushi container makes it look like the real thing , and pita pockets filled with lettuce , onion rings , and shrimp delight parents as much as their children .
Teddy bears made with shaggy wool are quite difficult to make , as it ’ s hard to see and pick up a dropped stitch , but they are always popular . So far , a blue , shaggy teddy lives in Hungary
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