By Erika Kwee, 23, reporting from Houston, TX, on adorable animal kits that extend knitting season to spring.
It seems The Longest Winter in History, or at least in my memory, is finally showing signs of ending. I say this, enough already, and I live in Texas, where the season is relatively gentle (read: I just turned on the A/C in my car for the first time in months). The only—I repeat, only—downside to the appearance of spring at last is that it usually comes with the packing away of my knitting needles. Who can bear the thought of wrestling wool scarves or trying on even a sleeve of a double-ply creation knowing 90-degree humidity will likely be here before that project is done?
Lucky for all of us who knit, we don’t have to package up that crafty side of our brain quite yet! British-based knitwear magicians Muir & Osborne have the answer to year-round yarnwork. Their wondrous knitted creature kits are just the ticket for spring, summer—heck, anytime is a good time to make your own utterly adorable, utterly handmade little animal.
Although I’ve been knitting for years, I’ve never gotten more adventurous than patterned hand warmers or a felted yoga bag. But the Muir & Osborne kits inspire me to go wilder. For about $50, they provide all you need to easily bring to life the knitted pet of your dreams—yarn, a pattern, needles, extras for experimenting, even wee collars for the cats and dogs.
I adore the detail in the mane of this lion and the bamboo with this irresistible panda. Even my sister—the ultimate tomboy who normally shuns cutesy things—could never turn down this Timon lookalike! (If only there was a Pumba to go with him.) And this proud little pug would make an excellent gift for my coworker who loves the pushed-in-nose pups.
For an even larger universe populated by incredible knits, check out Muir & Osborne’s Museum of Wool, where the masterpieces that can be made with yarn are endless: lobster sweaters to pastas to yes, reindeer hats for greyhounds. No spoilers here, but there are also some surprising celebrity knitters.
Go check it out, see how rhymes-with-Crussell Rowe works out his action-hero anger issues. I’ll just be here, patiently twiddling my knitting needles until my armadillo kit arrives.