My friend Jen was getting married and I wanted to give her something handmade. This was solely because handmade gifts are more meaningful because the maker had to pour time and work into the product and not at all because I’d already spent money for a plane ticket and hotel reservations in DC and wanted to give her something inexpensive.
Thus, Mr. and Mrs. Butterstick were born! And betrothed! And hitched! Damn, that was fast. Butterstick is the nickname of the panda that was born at the Washington D.C. zoo a few years ago. Jen watched the panda-cam obsessively after the little bear was born, so a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Butterstick presenting her with a butter plate seemed perfect.
I started Mrs. B two weeks before the wedding and was halfway done with her body when I realized, “Crap, this bear looked a lot smaller in the photo.” For the next two weeks I crocheted as fast as I could, ran out of black yarn and had to go on crafting expeditions for black felt and lace and sparkly beads for eyes – but thankfully every piece was finished, stuffed and sewn together by midnight the night before the wedding. Whew!
If you want to make your own Mr. & Mrs. Butterstick, follow the Lion Yarn Free Crochet Pattern for Felted Penny the Panda. You have to register to download the pattern, but it’s all free. I didn’t felt my pandas. I just crocheted them and put all the pieces together.
anji says
May 6, 2009 at 9:42 amIs it crochet or knitted? (like, two big long needles or one little one wtih a hook?)
I can only crochet blankets (with the one little hooked needle) and usually it starts at say, 40 inches on one end and by the time I get to the other, it’s suddenly 60 inches and I end up with an hour-glass shaped blanket… *um, yea, I wanted it to be that way!*
d’oh! I’m impressed with your talents!
PastaQueen says
May 6, 2009 at 9:46 am@anji – It’s crochet, one needle with a hook. You probably aren’t turning correctly if your blankets are expanding. Not that I expect that will make any sense to you :)
Kimmi says
May 6, 2009 at 9:59 amOh they are so cute! I wish that I could do something like that…my crochet talents are somewhat lacking…I have half a scarf I started like…three years ago…I can’t turn either!
K says
May 6, 2009 at 10:00 amVery, very, very cute!
So… are you on Ravelry?
PastaQueen says
May 6, 2009 at 10:10 am@K – No, but I just looked it up and requested an invite, so I guess I will be soon.
Kudret says
May 6, 2009 at 10:56 amThose are SUPER SUPER cute. I think you are SOOO talented with your handy dandy crocheting skills! What else have you crocheted?? I would love to see pictures of things you’ve crocheted like blankets or caps etc….any post like that?
Allison says
May 6, 2009 at 10:57 amWho knew you crocheted? Now we do! Hope you enjoy Ravelry as much as the rest of us… (I’m a knitter.)
Tina says
May 6, 2009 at 1:12 pmSo cute… it makes me want to crochet again. In regards to cute creatures, I just discovered this site and throught it was hilarious:
http://iheartguts.com/
Graized says
May 6, 2009 at 1:54 pmCute!
I just received my cow in the mail last night. Thanks! It’s now on the fridge and will soon have a companion, the orange hungry monster from WW. Combined, they’ll remind me to stay on target. :)
Ann in NJ says
May 6, 2009 at 2:00 pmVery cute, and meaningful, too. Yours probably turned out huge because they were meant to be felted. I love all the little creatures, but most are crocheted and I, alas, chose to learn to knit. Have fun at the wedding.
Dana says
May 6, 2009 at 2:38 pmCute idea. When I have to buy tickets, ect. I always try to give something inexpensive. Wedding can get expensive!
Becky says
May 6, 2009 at 3:24 pmLearning to crochet was one of my resolutions for this year. It hasn’t happened yet, but there’s plenty more year to come.
I love Ravelry! It’s the biggest time suck ever, but I’ve learned a lot and met a lot of nice people. The pattern search and all the free patterns are worth it all by themselves, even if you don’t choose to get involved with the social aspects.
Becca says
May 6, 2009 at 3:58 pmso cute!
(and thanks for the Chick Fil-A cow, although i opened it in front of my 4-year-old so I quickly lost custody…)
Jill says
May 6, 2009 at 4:04 pmWow – you are muy talented!
I just started knitting (like 4 days ago), and I am in awe of your yarn skillz! One day maybe I too will be able to knit AND crochet (she sighs wistfully).
anji says
May 6, 2009 at 4:35 pm@PastaQueen – No, totally makes sense! I haven’t done it in about six years (since before i got the wrist injury)…. my mom thought it was ’cause i changed my tension…. Me? Probably because I was too lazy to pay attention, haha…
The rows look like they were knitted and not crocheted! Reminds me of my grandma’s slippers… hey! you could make slippers next time, with little panda bears, hehe
Shelley B says
May 6, 2009 at 6:41 pmAww, these are so cute! And really, the personal gifts are the most memorable!
Amy says
May 6, 2009 at 7:28 pmomg! They are so freakin’ cute!!!! As a bride-to-be I would LOVE to get those as presents! Oh, I wish I knew how to crochet. Craft and I don’t mix well.
Erin says
May 6, 2009 at 9:04 pmIt’s been a while since I’ve visited (going to read archives now!) but this is just pure awesome. I love it. And so well made!!
Kari says
May 6, 2009 at 10:44 pm@Ann in NJ – Yep, that’s exactly what I was going to say…the ones in the photo looked smaller because they were felted, which shrinks the material substantially. :)
Esmeralda says
May 7, 2009 at 12:49 amCUTE-O-TRON TWNS ACTIVATE!
dg says
May 7, 2009 at 7:01 amThey’re so neat! In both senses of the word! :)
Mom Taxi Julie says
May 7, 2009 at 11:21 amOh those are so cute!
Andrea says
May 7, 2009 at 11:56 amHave you ever thought about joining the Indy Craft Mafia? :)
http://www.indycraftmafia.com/
amanda says
May 7, 2009 at 5:21 pmThis is what I love about this blog– Pastaqueen, you always surprise me!
On other blogs, I’d hear about how you just bought the yarn, and how you were planning a surprise, and you were going to tell us tomorrow, and how the progress was going, etc, etc.
On this blog, you just do it and tell us about it afterwards!
You make it seem like a perfectly reasonable thing to do, dabble in creative arts, cooking, crafts, mentioning whatever great insights you have about the world.
I am a total fan of pastaqueen.com!