An unauthorized knitalong for friends of the Backyardigans
Thanks to Brandy for putting together an official-quality custom header for the site. It conveys the fun spirit we want to have here.
I’m ready to open this up to all comers. As you stop by, please tell us a little bit about yourself and your favorite Backyardistuff.
Beth
It’s funny… we all like singing the BY songs, but I guess I crossed the line the other day. My 4 yo daughter asked for lemonade for her and her brother. I turned and she said, “Look, I already brought the sippy cups and set them on the counter.”
I said, “Well, that certainly is convenient.”
“MOM! STOP COPYING WHAT TYRONE SAYS!”
– Beth
Tyrone, Tasha, Pablo, Uniqua, or Austin? They all have their good points, even Tasha for goodness sakes! After all, my eldest daughter is a Tasha, although she won’t admit it. Her brothers have no problem telling her though so I can just sit back quietly and smile. She’ll realize it someday and hopefully mellow a bit.
So far, we have concentrated on Tyrone, because, after all, Beth’s Jack and my Pint are both going to dress as Cowboy Tyrone for Halloween and, although Halloween is four months away, you’d think it was tomorrow. We are both so excited about our little Tyrone-Along (TAL).
But hey, check out Pablo here. He’s cute; he’s colorful; he’s smiley. Maybe he panics a bit much in dicey pretend play situations but who hasn’t on occasion? We love Pablo!
So it just happened this weekend when I received my weekly (?) Knitpicks e-newletter, with Father’s Day around the corner, I saw this blue knit bow tie featured along with a free pattern and a promise of a low yarn cost of $1.99. Being knitters, those of you with aspirations of turning your little one into Pablo on All Hallow’s Eve might even have a little bright blue yarn stashed somewhere that could be substituted. The free pattern is here.
Now you might want to go the commercial route and buy a Pablo costume and, although there is really nothing wrong with that, wouldn’t it be fun to get your knit on with Pablo. Perhaps a little top-down raglan action, making the blue to yellow color transition easy peasy, paired with your newly knit bow tie and yellow pajama bottoms? Use Backyardiknits to find other Pablo lovers and you can have PALs. Coincidence? I think not.
Throw a comment or ten our way and let us know who your favorite Backyardigan is. Alongs can be started and friends can be made. We can all make the world a happier place, starting with five colorful and delightful animated friends who aren’t afraid of a little adventure.
Although Beth and I have both joined the Needle Liberation Front (or is that the Liberation Front for Knitting Needles) and therefore cannot yet cast on our highly anticipated Tyrone tunic sweaters for Halloween Cowboy Tyrones, I saw no problem with trying out my new Sweater Wizard Software (thank you awesome KnitPicks) on a couple Tyrones sized to Beth’s Jack and my Pint. They are both top-down, as we each try to avoid as many seams as possible and also because it makes matching the stripes (not included in the patterns) between the body and sleeves much simpler. Pint’s sweater is for a 20″ chest size with the actual pattern taking it up to 24″; Jack’s is for a 23″ chest with the actual pattern increasing to 27″. Neither has been tested so I offer no guarantees but after looking them over with my addled mind, they seem sensical.
Each pattern is in word format. If you’re feeling froggy, jump in the knitting pond. If you need another size, you might have to bribe the Backyardiknit girls with all things fibrous.
By the way, as these are untested patterns, I offer no guarantees to their accuracy or their lack of mistakes. Any suggestions or corrections will be highly appreciated and, if bofo enough, be rewarded with the aforementioned “all things fibrous.”
Embrace your inner guinea pig; you might surprise yourself.
~Lauren
Beth’s Jack and Lauren’s Pint are both going to be “Cowboy Tyrone” for Halloween. Since I (Lauren) have been trying very hard to knit from my stash this year (it’s enormous and I have creatures in the yard producing more fiber as we speak), I chose these from what I had. (Notice the attractive water mark on my in-dreadful-need-of-refinishing dining room table.) Then the Chocolate Sheep herself, knitter extraordinaire Beth, had to go buy better Tyrone yarn than I did:
You know I can’t let her show me up in this manner. LYS, here I come. You know, I’ll have to sneak it into the house though.
~Lauren
Welcome! This is a knitalong for folks who love the Backyardigans. You don’t have to have Backyardigans-loving kids or grandkids to participate… but it probably helps.
It’s not authorized by anyone associated with the Backyardigans. So if we end up quoting songs, or posting images from the show, it should be thought of as a loving tribute. There is no charge to join the knitalong. It’s all for fun.
As this knitalong gets underway, we’re looking for patterns to use. Feel free to send us links to free patterns, finished objects, and patterns for sale. And if you have created anything Backyardigan style, let us know so everyone can see!
Beth
