Finger Foods: Apple

My third knit project for the swap was the apple from Finger Foods.  Since I'd already made the apple once before (for my own Finger Foods set from the Teddy Bear Picnic swap), I had a better of idea of the construction of the apple.  These finger puppets are really fun and X has had a lot of fun playing with them.  Little kids AND adults love putting these on their fingers!

For this project, I was planning on copying Raili (Fairytale Knits) and making the "puppet" portion of the apple in crazy colored sock yarn.  But...I didn't have any.  So I used Cascade Fixation in Red and Sage (for the leaf), and Universal Yarn Pace in Chocolate for the puppet.  This yarn I got from Raili in the Teddy Bear Picnic swap.  It's so handy and I appreciate it so much when I get yarn in swaps!  I love having great knitterly friends!

My biggest struggle with these toys is how to stuff them.  The first time, I tried filling the toy around the finger puppet portion, wrapping the fiberfill around the finger.  This time I tried stuffing the toy and pushing the finger puppet in afterwards.  I'm not convinced either is the best way.  How did the rest of you do it?  I did a lot of rolling in-between my hands to get a consistent stuffing throughout the apple.

The Fixation is an interesting yarn.  It's sproingy (I know that's not a real word but it's expresses my thoughts on the yarn better than any other) so the stitch definition isn't uniform.  While pulling the thread through your fingers, it will stretch because of the elastic contained within it, and when released it will spring back.  So even if you think you're pulling it through consistently, you're probably not.  The yarn is soft and provides a pretty completed texture, but it can be frustrating when it leaves loose stitches.  And I don't know about anyone else but I don't block my toys. :) The only other problem for me is that the red is so hard to photograph.  It's bright enough that all my photos come out a bit blurry or fuzzy, like the camera can't decide where to focus.

I think the fruits from this pattern would also be fantastic in a slight semi-solid with subtle color shifts.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - both kids and adults love this toy! :)