Flopsy the Bunny and a little of Monty

 Whilst I've been ill baking has been the last thing on my mind, however, in November my Nephew was born. I decided that I could use this blog to not only show my baking but also any little projects that I've made for the mini Manley or my family. 

I've had a project ongoing for a few months of a little monkey that I wanted to knit for him and give as a present so I thought, eek, I had better get on with that!! So I picked up my knitting needles and got back into knitting again to complete it. The pattern, Sirdar 1342, consisted of making lots of different pieces and then sewing them together. It felt like there were so many pieces and I was worried I would never be able to work out how it all went together, however, that bit was remarkably easy. Here is a picture of Monty the Monkey. 

Monty the Monkey

I don't want to go into much detail about Monty because I didn't take many photos of him and he's a bit hard to see. However, at the same time as getting that pattern I also purchased one of my own for our little M&M so after I'd finished Monty I got on with making Flopsy the Bunny, Sirdar 1243. I have to thank my husband for taking these photos for me and it's actually the first time I've seen them so I'm having a little chuckle as I write!!  

Flopsy the Bunny having a lounge in bed!!

 Flopsy was much easier to make than Monty as she had far fewer pieces. the body was just one complete piece as was the the head and legs. The arms and ears consisted of a front and back piece, so again very simple. Monty on the other had, for just the leg, a top foot, bottom foot, top leg and bottom leg. His head was even worse, it has 2 sides, plus 2 muzzle pieces, plus a face and a back. I was impressed with how Flopsy's feet/legs were made as I couldn't see when I started how it was all going to be one piece but with some increase stitches in the right places it formed a lovely little bootie. 

Flopsy's top half

 Flopsy was really easy to put together, Monty took me a day of combining pieces, whereas Flopsy took me just a couple of hours. The hardest part was making sure that the stuffing was even so she was a nice round ball rather than a strange shaped rabbit!! 

And back, such a cute tail!!

 Her tail has to be my favourite part of her as it's so small and fluffy. 

Flopsy Face Detail

To finish her off I sewed on the face details, again very simple. 

The pattern talks you through every step and is very easy to follow. I would recommend using the wool they suggest, Sirdar Snuggly Snowflake, because it is really soft and perfect for this kind of project. The wool, however, does make things more difficult as it is hard to see the previous stitches in detail and very difficult to pick up dropped stitches so use it carefully. 

Overall I'm really pleased with both Monty and Flopsy, Flopsy was definitely the easier of the two patterns to make and also my favourite. My sister has a dog pattern which she will be making at some stage so maybe she'll let us know how that one goes.