Mrs Tiggy-Winkle

I am taking part in a swap organised by one of my Ravelry groups . For those of you not familiar with (Craft ) swaps , here is how they work - : a theme is chosen and posted on the Ravelry group , people put their name down and provide the necessary info for the swap (hate blue acrylic , love brown alpaca , that sort of thing) , the moderator of the swap puts a dollar/pound value limit . Dates are set , swap partners and addresses given and off you go . Sometimes however , even though there is a monetary limit , someone receives a huge package full of goodies , of a much higher value than given . This can put some folk off participating , as you don't want to appear the green meanie  . I have taken part in various swaps , some amusing (Dr Who Jelly Baby swap) , some mentally challenging (Fibonacci Hat swap) , and some just for the fun of it .

This swap is for fun and is organised by a lovely Irish lady on the Waldorf group . Now I am not a "Waldorf/Steiner" educated person myself , nor are my children , but I do like some of their ethos . Growing up in 1970's UK , some of what is called "Waldorf" was actually part of mainstream education back then , mainly craft and nature . (Obviously the blatant sexism and racism of the 1970's isn't Waldorf , but that wasn't really part of the education system per se .)

This swap was to reflect the season and what would be put out on the "Nature Table" , and since autumnal leaves and seeds don't travel well , it meant something handmade , along with a verse or story .

Here is Mrs Tiggy-Winkle , along with my lovely Autumn felted basket full of knitted leaves and acorns . Mrs Tiggy-winkle will be flying out to New England soon to my lovely swap partner who sent me my Autumnal felted basket .

The pattern is from Ysoldas' Whimsical Knits 2 , and is a sweet and enjoyable knit .

For some reason Hedgehogs are quite scarce now - when I was young there were lots of them in the woods behind our house where we used to play (we called it "the glen") . Our dog would sniff them out to play with them and catch lots of fleas from them as he rolled them about with his nose!

Hedgehogs also eat the garden nasties like slugs , so are a gardeners friend .

I hop my swap partner likes Mrs Tiggy-Winkle , and forgives my bad sewing technique for the eyes and nose . I will miss her and may need to knit another .