The French Bear Will Not Defeat Me!!!!

One of my WIPs is the French Teddy Bear from Debbie Bliss Teddy Bear Knits.

First, it was the yarn for the bear. I started by using Berroco's Ultra Alpca. It was the right weight and the right color. But it didn't have the give that you need when making one of these bears. (If you've ever made one of these bear/toys, you know how dramatically you have to increase across very few rows and you need every ounce of give no matter how loosely you knit.)

So, then I searched & searched & searched for Hayfield Grampian DK. I wanted this yarn because I had made bears and other toys from it years ago. Of course, it was no longer made. Luckily, somebody on the Knitty Board pointed me in the direction of Sirdar. Sirdar makes a Country Style DK that's the exact same as my old standby. Wool & acrylic -- machine washable -- perfect for making a teddy bear that will be a gift for a baby.

Of course, none of my LYS carried it. I looked on-line and didn't see too many options. So, I went to the one YS that said the could order it for me. And I special ordered it.

And two days later, I found it at Herrschners where I could by just a few skeins instead of a bag of 10 balls. (Anybody needs some light bear colored yarn???) I did however order the navy, white and red for his attired.

The special order comes in -- and I start knitting the bear. Two legs, two arms, one body, one head, two ears and one nose. Nothing major to report. The pieces are living in a ziploc bag, waiting for the rest of the knitting to be done so it can be washed, assembled and stuffed.

So I knit up the back and the front of his shirt. I knit the two pieces of his pants. I knit his jaunty scarf. I need to seam his pants and his shirt. But the shirt and pants are knit in stockinette, so they're rolling up and in. Sigh. Not easy to seam together.

Right now, the two pieces for his pants are being blocked into submission. I was going to pin out the front and back of his sweater...but I ran out of pins. Hopefully, tomorrow.

If he wasn't a gift for the baby of dear friends of mine, I'd just give up. If I hadn't shown them a picture of the bear, I'd just give them the bear and his jaunty scarf. But they are good friends, and it is their first baby (and I did show them the picture). So I shall persevere...