defender of my house...

Remember this guy? I made this gnome a few years back - he's an Alan Dart pattern that came in a supplement to Simply Knitting Magazine. I absolutely fell for him, and had grandiose plans to knit multitudes of them for myself, friends and family. Those plans fell through for whatever reason, but this little guy still sits on the bookcase in my living room, tucked into the corner. The story is that these Swedish gnomes protect the house they live in. There is also a story that they steal from the house they live in, so I guess my guy is a combination of both of these stories - he protects us, but it's his fault things go missing...

Although he does have a somewhat "Christmassy" sort of look, he's really a year-round type of guy. I picked him up the other day, and thought that with a few modifications, I could make him a little more seasonal - brighter colours, some furry trim, a modified hat shape... A quick dive into the stash for some Classic Merino (even toys deserve to be made of good wool), a side trip to Michael's for the velvet trim, and I had this. I know, he looks a little off here. I had to wait until I could get to Needles and Knits for beard yarn. Fun fur (actually, almost any acrylic) is not something I keep in the stash, and Michael's had no white left on shelf. I was at the store on Tuesday, and cleaned Tove out of any and all white furry stuff.

Really makes a difference, doesn't it? This particular one is a gift for a friend. He will be clutching a small box with the other half of the gift. And he took so little time (a couple of nights, maybe?) that I really want to make more of them. There's a couple of people I know that would love him, and I'd really like one for myself. Plus, I'd like to make more of the traditional gnomes as well. Of course, with the time crunch upon us, the ones for me will be a New Years endeavour, but if I get butt in gear and crank out the last pair of thrummed mitts, I may be able to squeeze in at least one more of these guys.