Last fall, my internet shy neighbor wanted to learn how to knit. I got her started on a basic swatch before setting her on an official project, so she could get comfortable with both the knit and purl stitches, as well as alternating between the two. By the time she was done, she had a swatch about 6 inches square which was perfect for one of those cute bunnies knit from a square. So we started sewing. We soon realized that what we had in front of us didn’t really look like a bunny, it sort of resembled…… an armadillo.
My internet shy friend printed up pictures of armadillos so we could fashion the tail and ears accordingly. And the result?
Cool, no?
Want to know what else is cool?
THERE’S ONLY ONE!!!! I’m very very happy. We got to see the little one wiggling around, and moving appendages this morning. Quite exciting. Veronica was there, and thought it was pretty cool. They put the baby at 10 weeks, which is much further than I thought, so I’m going to talk to the doctor about it on Wednesday.
September 8th, 2005 at 6:14 am
Woot!!! It’s a baby. A baby! How cute (and fuzzy looking) it is. Hmm, so 10 weeks…and a pregnancy is usually, um, 36? So, in 26 weeks…that’s March! Yay March. March is gooood. I was born in March, and as you eldest….
Is that J@(*$’s armadillo? It’s cute.
September 8th, 2005 at 6:22 am
I love the armadillo! Aren’t ultrasounds fun? I just love that you can kind of see facial features on the later ones. I don’t know why anyone would not want to see their baby this way – it’s just amazing!
September 8th, 2005 at 6:22 am
how exciting! 10 weeks is awesome-nearly there;) Thanks for posting, I was worrying about you!
September 8th, 2005 at 6:45 am
Hayden- a pregnancy is 40 weeks, and they put my due date at April 5th, but I’m not going to be throwing it around too much until I argue my case with the doc next week.
Kathy- worried about me? How sweet!
September 8th, 2005 at 6:54 am
Yes, that’s my armadillo, with alot of help from Laura, of course! I’m glad you guys like it. I think it turned out pretty cute.
So, maybe Laura shouldn’t argue with the Doctor, cuz if they are right, she’s already a quarter of the way through this pregnancy! That would be a good thing, right?
September 8th, 2005 at 7:43 am
congratulations again and it looks like a gummibear :))) Love it when they start to look like this 🙂 Only 3 weeks and the worst time is over. Hope your sickness is getting better 🙂
September 8th, 2005 at 10:19 am
Aww…the armadillo is so cute! I had never heard of doing something like that. I’ll have to try it 🙂
Aww….the baby! How adorable! Hope you sickness is getting better and you are getting back to as normal as you can get.
September 8th, 2005 at 11:16 am
Wow – love the armadillo!
Would you/your Internet shy friend mind if I tried to make a rabbit which looks like your armadillo – on purpose?
And can I ask some questions about *exactly* what she did? The armadillo’s tail isn’t part of the original rabbit square is it?
The organization I am a member of (the Brain Injury Association of Nova Scotia, Valley chapter) has an accident prevention ambassador named “Skully Says”.
Skully Says is a 7 foot armadillo (we use a very tall person inside the costume, BTW) who visits elementary schools to educate kids about the importance of wearing bicycle helmets, how to wear them properly, and other saftey messages.
Your armadillo (nee rabbit) would be great – especially if I could knit one wearing a helmet. (My DH has just suggested *making* a helmet – out of a tennis ball or something similiar, instead of knitting it. He’s handy like that.)
Any further information on the pattern used would be very helpful – i.e. how many rows were knitted in garter stitch, how many in stockingette stitch, etc. How long is the tail, and what knitting stitch was used for it?
I think I have the rabbit-from-a-sqaure pattern kicking around somewhere. I’ve just never gotten around to making it.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Janey
Sorry to be so long-winded, but I’m just so excited.
Your Internet shy friend (Julie is it?) must be very proud.
September 8th, 2005 at 2:34 pm
Well Jules, the cat is out of the bag, and I didn’t let it out!!! Haha.
Janey- you may certainly try and knit an armadillo! I don’t have any specific info, it was a fly-by-the-seat operation, so I’d suggest looking at the website I linked, or another good picture of an armadillo, and try to imitate it. Looks like reverse stockinette at the beginning and end, and garter stitch in the middle. For the tail, I made an i-chord, probably started with 5 stitches, gradually decreasing to three, with some purl rows thrown in periodically.
September 8th, 2005 at 2:43 pm
an addendum-
Actually, if you look at the last picture, it looks like the top was finished off in regular stockinette, thus (unintentionally of course) creating that cool ridge of “armor” at the shoulder. Who knew an accident could turn out so well?
September 8th, 2005 at 5:54 pm
Love the armadillo. And just couldn’t resist leaving a comment after seeing the pic of your ultrasound: So magic to be able to “see” the baby inside.
September 8th, 2005 at 8:30 pm
I never thought that armadillo could looks so cute!!
Love the ultrasound pic, I think it’s amazing!! I can see the form of the baby, yay!!!
September 9th, 2005 at 2:30 am
April 5 – a great day to be born (my twins were born then).. plus, a diamond for your mother’s ring! 😉
Cute ultrasound pic and the armadillo is precious!
September 9th, 2005 at 2:51 am
Yay on the baby! How exciting.
September 9th, 2005 at 5:34 am
I made one of those bunnies for my youngest cousin two Easters ago. It was christened the “Easter Armadillo”. Thanks family. But yeah, they do resemble armadillos.
Aww! Ultrasound pictures are so cool.
September 15th, 2005 at 2:16 am
Love the armadillo. And congratulations. The ultrasound picture is great. What good news! Sorry you’re not feeling so great. At least if your farther along than you thought, you’ll be through that nauseating 1st trimester sooner.