Peabey

I promised another creature of the ice last time, didn’t I?

Meet Peabey the Polar Bear, designed by Snowden Becker, and knit over the last few days by yours truly. Snowden even sent me the yarn with which to make him, a very interesting yarn of unknown origin – other than the fact she picked it up at a neighbor’s yard sale and it had probably been sitting in a California attic for decades. To find out the story behind the yarn, check out Snowden’s blog.

I’m totally blown away by this pattern. This isn’t just a generic bear – but very definitely a polar bear. The sleek, sloping head, the long neck, the turned-in rear toes, the fat backside – it’s a polar bear’s anatomy through and through. He has a very life-like stance, too. Snowden did such an amazing job with this. Her instructions call for cotton yarn, but I really liked knitting this in angora. As I knit for myself mostly, I’ve never used angora. It was fun trying out a new fiber. I was amazed at the lightness of it. And even though I had to break out the lint roller a few times, it was worth it. It gives him a nice, fuzzy halo.

The pattern is easy to follow. Absolutely no seaming, and just five little Kitchener grafts. I’m still not confident in my ability to embroider, but I did manage some decent, if beady, French-knot eyes, and at least the nose and claws are recognizable.

As we head past 50 days of 100+ degree heat this summer, it’s nice to have the company of someone from cooler climes.