Off the Hook: Cactus Pincushion

My sister saw a photo of this little guy somewhere on the Web, posted it on my Facebook page, and said if she had one, she would be inspired to take up sewing again. I couldn't resist the challenge and set out to make her one. The pattern is from Ana Paula Rimoli's November 10, 2007,  post in her blog "Amigurumi Patterns & Random Cuteness."

I used odds and ends of acrylic yarns from my stash. The pattern works up pretty fast; I think I spent barely a couple of hours on the whole project, except for the trip to Joann's for the pearl head pins. The only change I made was to the filling of the planter. Ana used poly-pellets, which I didn't have. I stiffened the bottom with a round piece of heavy card. Then I thought I'd substitute dried beans for the pellets, but didn't have any on hand. Instead, I used white rice wrapped in a scrap of fabric, which gave enough weight to keep the pincushion upright.

I think my sister will be pleased with the results. Can't wait to take it to her.

Off the Needles: Shizuku Scarf

Now that the big doubleknit project is finished, I'm going through my bags of unfinished projects. Just finished knitting and washing this scarf which I started sometime last year. The pattern is Shizuku by Angela Tong. It's all garter stitch except for the short-row dangles that create the fringe.

The yarn is a ball of Schoppel Wolle Zauberball that I bought a while back at a knitting show in Greensboro, NC. It's fingering weight 75% wool/25% nylon singles. The yarn felt pretty scratchy while I was knitting it so I've washed it with a fabric softener. I've lost the label, but a Web search indicates that the wool is superwash. If that's the case and if the scarf dries still scratchy, I'll try machine-washing it.