There is a new baby arriving any day soon, a great-grandson no less! With the baby being Australian, I immediately thought, ah ha! I’ll knit him a toy from my Australian knitted toys pattern book. It’s true, I do have such a book, and I found the perfect animal to knit. As an experienced knitter, and having made other toys from this book, I assumed it would come easy to me. However…
I knitted the pieces first, as you might expect, but looking at them here, it is certainly hard to imagine how it all comes together. In retrospect one word springs to mind – SLOWLY.
The pattern needed careful attention, as there was a good deal of increasing and decreasing of stitches to each part. That was fine, until I came to knit the claws on the four limbs. OMG. These were complicated to make, especially as I used some thicker wool, when my needles were number 11 (old school measure). Anyway, I kept churning out the body parts, and started on the inside ears (the back of the ears, in grey were a breeze). But, the big loop stitch in white these ears demanded, was anything but. I admit that I swore rather a lot.
But hey! Yesterday I finished stitching him up, which involves stuffing the bits with recycled polyester, and then setting the limbs in the right place.
As you can see in the above image the koala is smiling, so I guess he wasn’t too affected by being roughed around so much. Note: I chose not to cut the loops on the inner ears as suggested.
I made the kangaroo pictured on right from the same book and was pleased with how that toy turned out too.
ARTISTRY 
Clever great-grandma! Lucky fella! I had a stuffed koala as a child, called Wonky, that was my very favourite toy. I look forward to discovering the names that are bestowed on your great-grandson and great-grandma’s knitted toys!
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Wonky sounds wonderful I had a koala too, named Bub. My sister’s was Bib. We adored them.
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Great-grandson!!! Congratulations, Vivienne! 😎❤️🙏
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Yes indeed, a great grandson. He should be here any day now. Thanks for your message.
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Wow, you did great! Your koala is adorable.
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Thanks Kate.
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I’d say it was well worth the effort they look like the kind of toys that will be well loved.
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Thank you. It seems my homemade toys are well made. My sister still has a dog I made for one of her children, over 30 years ago.
I’ll have to wait and see whether this toy is as well loved.
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First of all congratulations. A great-grandson with such a talented great-grandmother. I adore the koala; he has such a friendly smile. And that kangaroo is so smart. I love the green vest and the little teapot brooch. Great toys; they will be enjoyed.
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Wonderful news about the expected grandchild! Congratulations. You are such a clever knitter – my goodness – those handcrafted toys are absolute treasures.
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Congratulations Vivienne, on becoming a great-grandmother and on these marvellous creations.
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The koala and kangaroo look great You did a fine job! Neil S.
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