Knitted Meerkats

April 12

Are you into Meerkats- do you `get' the whole Meerkat thing? Is it all `simples' to you? Hmm you know I find it a bit irritating, give me the Cadbury bunny or the Smash robots any day. So I wasn't exactly excited about this book......until I looked inside. Sue Stratford who wrote this book is obviously very pleasantly mad. I like mad, mad is good. Mad makes this book so much fun. These Meerkats are cute , diminutive, they have character, bags of character and babies, they have babies, in little baby carriers- yep seriously- well not that seriously- which like I say is the really good thing. I knitted a grown up Meerkat, I didn't use the two strands of special wool recommended, I just broke out some fawn mohair and it seemed to work fine. The parts knit up quickly and are brilliantly shaped. I made up and stuffed as I went as all the little bits could get confusing and that way I could see my little guy emerging from the fluffy chaos. The book recommends that you place two coins in the base of the body and this does give the model a good stability. Anna asked me to make the `Fluffy Flippers' kat , but there really is something for everyone, from brides to punks. I think the yarn I used for the cream stripes on the swimming costume was a 3ply rather than 4ply so it does pull a bit over my slightly chubby guy. I also found it hard to find the colours I wanted to use in 4ply, as you only need very little quantities I didn't want to buy lots of new wool so made do a bit with some cotton sewing thread. These figures seem up for that though; a bit of fiddling about, personalising, chopping and changing. This title is a hard back with lovely thick pages, that nice matt paper which smells like almond shells. The pictures are lush and inspiring and I can put my hand on my heart and say that the patterns I followed Work and I'm sorry to say that that doesn't always go without saying. The book costs GBP9.99 and has patterns for twenty different kat outfits and two different kat sizes. The possibilities are endless though huh? I'm a convert, you can never have too many Meerkats!

May 2012

Their growing popularity over the last few years have elevated Meerkats to something approaching cult status. They've now been immortalised in yarn by Susan Stratford, who created 20 fun characters for you to hand knit. All the meerkats are based on the same easy-to-follow pattern. You'll love them and before you know it you'll be hooked and well on the way to knitting an entire Meerkat clan

May 12

A meerkat is an animal in the mongoose family. Meerkats are very social animals and live in groups called clans, mobs or gangs. This mammal uses its tail for balance when standing upright. They burrow and live underground. They don't make good house pets as they are too aggressive. In the knitted stuffed form they are cute and cuddly and make wonderful pets. So now you have the opportunity to create your own clan, mob or gang. Sue Stratford has authored Knitted Meerkats with 20 adorable small stuffed animals to knit. In Britain, meerkats have acquired cult status. It all started several years ago with Aleksander Orlov the meerkat as a marketing ploy. Patrons have since been adopting the animals from the Blackpool Zoo. Meerkat toys have become very popular. Similar but more influential than the Geico gecko here in the United States. All the meerkats are knit using double strands of 4 ply fingering/laceweight fluffy yarn. When complete the yarn allows for tiny details and a variety of expressions. Beside knitting the meerkats with their pointy faces and long pointy tails, you can knit them an entire wardrobe to dress them up. There is a soccer player with a striped soccer shirt and ball. The punk wears a black sweater with a safety pin in his nose. His green mohawk compliments the punk look. Musical meerkat plays a guitar and sings into a microphone. The jean jacket is the perfect dress for this rocker. The skier wears a striped hat with pom pom and matching sweater that keeps him warm while shushing down the slopes with his silver poles and wood like skis. Bollywood wears a sari adorned with beads and a beaded bindi decoration on her forehead. You can almost hear the music playing as she dances. The step by step instructions are clear and the photographs are detailed. There are kats to knit as gifts for boys, girls and grownups. They stand 5 1/2 inches tall and would make nice key chains and backpack fobs. This is a cute book to get you started on your holiday gifts.

July 12

These cute little creatures have won hearts the world over - so much so that they now enjoy something of a cult status! So we know for sure that this book is going to be very, very popular indeed. We love all 20 meerkats inside, especially the bride, groom and flower girl, which make a cute set to give as a wedding gift. Musical types will appreciate the electric-guitar-playing character and fans of vampire movies will go wild for The Count, with his sharp fangs and cape. The adorable baby meerkat in his nappy makes a quirky gift for new parents and, now that summer is here, the Beach Babe will be a timely knit. We wish that we could show you all of the patterns here, as they are truly amazing. Some of the patterns include a small amount of crochet, but if you're not au fait with the technique, you can follow the alternative methods that are given.

June 12

Meerkats are everywhere these days; from TV adverts for a certain bank to the (mis) adventures at Meerkat Manor they seem to have charmed us. Here is a whole book of patterns to knit those furry fun-loving beasties for all those around you who have gone meerkat mad... Meerkats, as Bill Nighy has told us are 12 high but if this seems a lot of knitting don't worry, the beasties in here are 51/2 for adults and a wee 23/4 for the youngsters. They appear in a wide range of costumes for various occasions as well as just for fun, and a section on how to make the basic bare body is at the beginning. This book is suitable for improvers onwards; it involves knitting with double yarn but the stitches are mostly the basic ones and the projects grow fairly quickly, which is encouraging. The patterns here are in word form rather than charts and are nicely laid out to be easy to read. They are also handsomely illustrated with the finished items in various poses and with funny captions. There are no staged diagrams on what the projects look like while being made, but provided you can follow a basic pattern this should not be too much of a problem. Meerkats are shown sporting bride and groom outfits, as babies with a miniature teddy, dressed as Santa, a punk rocker, vampire, graduate, a day at the seaside complete with cute duck inflatable and my own favorite the Bollywood wannabe star in her sari. All the characters (there are more) are shown as thumbnails at the front on a double page, making it easy to choose the right one without too much hunting, a great Search Press feature in many of their books. Small projects like these are wonderful for making quick presents, stocking fillers, party prizes, and cake decorations, so this handy book ought to get plenty of use.

Mar 12

My wife knew what she was talking about when she asked me to order this delightful and expertly produced book for her, even though, at time of ordering it had yet to be released. She has a Thing about Meerkats. Sue Stratford should feel very proud of both herself and staff. The wait was well worth it. The book is beautifully set out, instructions clear, simple to understand and precise, with the right amount of humour from both Meerkats and Author. My wife, quite rightly, sends her thanks to Sue.- Uncle Bill , Amazon